Former Pitcairn mayor found guilty over child abuse images
6 March 2016
Michael Warren, who downloaded more than 1000 images of child abuse while working in child protection, will serve his sentence on the tiny Pacific island
The former mayor of Pitcairn Island has been sentenced to 20-months in prison after he was convicted of possessing more than 1000 images and videos depicting child pornography.The tiny British territory in the South Pacific, which has a population of around 50 people, gained international notoriety in 2004 when seven of the island’s 12 men were accused of a total of 55 sex crimes, some dating back 40 years.
…cruise ships anchor offshore, disgorging wealthy tourists in search of……The ship was at Pitcairn for four hours during which time trading by the Pitcairners with passengers and crew was brisk, and profitable. During the trading period, the ship cruised slowly around the island twice. “with the crew being helpful to the Pitcairners in carrying boxes and baskets of trade goods up from the Pitcairn longboats to where trading was permitted on the ship.”
Former mayor Michael Warren – who served as the island’s mayor from 2008 to 2013 – began downloading images of child abuse in 2004.
During the years Warren downloaded the images he was working in child protection on the island – and travelling to New Zealand and the United Kingdom in an official capacity for further training in child protection.
Warren has also been found guilty of engaging in an internet “sex chat” with a person purporting to be a 15-year-schoolgirl, and of possessing a video that showed a bound and gagged naked woman.
Warren will begin serving prison time when New Zealand police officers arrive on the island, which could take up to six months.
It is not known whether he will be detained on the island’s specially-built prison, which was constructed by islanders found guilty of sex crimes with material shipped out from Britain in kit form.
Last month…
2 Feb 2016
Lawyer calls for trial to be held on Pitcairn Island, not in Auckland, as ex-mayor Michael Warren denies all 25 charges
As mayor in 2010, it was alleged in court, Warren accidentally sent an email to a diplomatic staff member from an address in someone else’s name.
It was further alleged in court that the staff member searched for the address online and found it was linked to an online chat site containing explicit material.
Sergeant Geoff Medland, an officer seconded to Pitcairn Island in 2009 as part of the assistance provided by New Zealand police to the territory, was made aware of the allegations in late April 2010.
The crown alleges Medland found more than 1,000 child abuse images and videos in a search of Warren’s home on 26 May 2010.
Warren was arrested by Medland on behalf of the British high commission and charged with 20 counts of possessing child sexual abuse content under section 160 of the UK’s Criminal Justice Act 1988. He also received five charges under the Pitcairn summary offences ordinance for possession of indecent articles involving adults.
Child sex abuse inquiry lawyer resigns over concerns
1 November 2016
A key lawyer for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has resigned, BBC Newsnight has learned.
Toby Fisher, one of the first three barristers appointed to the inquiry, said he wanted to stand down in August.
It is understood he was concerned by the inquiry’s “progress and direction” and was not otherwise planning on leaving.
A spokesman for the inquiry would not comment on specifics and Mr Fisher declined to comment.
Mr Fisher had served as first junior counsel – the joint-second most senior barrister on the inquiry – and previously worked on two of the inquiry’s most high profile investigations – into Lord Janner and alleged abuse in Westminster.
Mr Fisher’s decision to leave came about a fortnight after the departure of the inquiry’s third chair, Dame Lowell Goddard and days after Newsnight disclosed the inquiry had been told of an alleged sexual assault by the inquiry’s lead counsel, Ben Emmerson QC.
Asked about Mr Fisher’s departure, a spokesman for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse said the inquiry had “a large legal team comprising a number of junior counsel, senior counsel and solicitors”.
“They come and go subject to their professional obligations and we are not commenting on specifics,” he added.
The spokesman for the inquiry added that Toby Fisher remains instructed by the inquiry. However, the BBC understands that this is to allow Mr Fisher to answer any queries that arise related to his previous work.
FIVE MOST SENIOR LAWYERS TO QUIT THE ABUSE INQUIRY
Hugh Davies QC – December 2015
Toby Fisher – August 2015
Elizabeth Prochaska – September 2016
Ben Emmerson QC – September 2016
Aileen McColgan – November 2016
Clarke and her three young children are now settled in at Homewood, the grand official residence in Karori, and will soon be joined by Fisher, who’s been winding up his barrister’s chambers in London. He will join the Crown Law Office in Wellington.
Wellington, once regarded as a pre-retirement posting, is now attracting younger high flyers. Clarke’s predecessor, Jonathan Sinclair, who returned to London to become the principal private secretary to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, was also a parent of young children at Homewood.
https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/profiles/laura-clarke-diplomat-nz-special-reason/
http://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/toby_fisher
Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed
In 2000, police investigating the rape allegations of a 15-year-old girl uncovered a trail of child abuse dating back at least three generations. Scarcely any of Pitcairn’s 47 inhabitants were untainted by the allegations, and barely a girl growing up on the island had escaped abuse.
Marks, who was one of six international journalists who traveled to the island for the trials in 2004 said “Everyone who lived on Pitcairn over the years, over the generations, knew exactly what was going on,” …
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103569364
Pitcairn Public Hall
For Britain, the case raised embarrassing questions about its supervision of the colony, now known as an overseas territory.
Earl Mountbatten and HRH Prince Phillip visited Pitcairn via the Royal Yacht Britannia during February 1971.
When Prince Philip visited in 1971 he received a briefing paper about the place and personalities.
Truthseeker1 @thewakeupcall09
Lord Louis Mountbatten former chauffeur Norman Nield exposed him
Edward Prince of Wales and his cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten “relax” in a canvas swimming pool on board H. M. S. Renown during their 1920 Empire Tour.
Lord Louis was a great grandson of Queen Victoria and the uncle of Prince Philip (consort of Queen Elizabeth II). Mountbatten was also a promiscuous bisexual who was famously rumored to have had an affair with Edward VIII (who was Prince of Wales at the time) when he accompanied him on his Empire tours (see photo above).
The Queen. Like any human being, she is subject to the influence of those around her. While he lived, Lord Mountbatten was a persuasive counsellor, and he formulated the plan for Prince Charles’s unusually rigorous education.
http://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/26/magazine/an-informal-look-at-the-royal-family.html?pagewanted=all
Richard Alston and Robert Alston
Robert Alston was governor of Pitcairn.
^ Soon after the police left, governor Robert Alston wrote a letter to the Chief Constable of Kent police, David Phillips.. and sent a gift, grateful that “the matter”, which had the potential to turn into a long drawn-out and complicated legal case had been satisfactorily resolved.
Robert Alston:
British Ambassador to Oman between (1986–1990)
High Commissioner to New Zealand
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) – 1987
Governor of the Pitcairn Islands between (1994–1998)
Since retiring from the Diplomatic Service Alston has been involved with:
Education (as Chairman of the Council of Ardingly College from 2005-10 and Chairman of the Governing Body of the Marsh Academy New Romney fro 2007-13);
The Church (on the staff of Archbishop George Carey from 1999-2002;
Peter Ball was not charged and this was done with the knowledge of the then archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey.
Robert Alston’s brother is Richard Alston who was recently convicted of child sex abuse and is connected to a VIP paedophile ring.
Richard Alston, was supported during the trial by his brother Robert Alston from the public gallery.
Richard Alston’s partner Peter Righton was the founder of the Paedophile Information Exchange, the court heard.
The court heard Richard Alston and his partner Peter Righton forced an 11-year-old boy at the school to watch pornography and then perform sex acts on him at their home in Greenford, west London.
It was the investigation into Righton – convicted of importing images of child abuse in 1992 – that led to MP Tom Watson using Parliamentary privilege in 2012 to allege there was “clear intelligence” of a VIP child sex abuse ring.
Former PIE treasurer Charles Napier is the half-brother of John Whittingdale MP
PIE – Charles Napier and Peter Righton. Image taken from Secret Life of a Paedophile
The court heard PIE’s Peter Righton and Alston’s friend PIE’s Charles Napier – now a convicted paedophile – would also be present on some occasions.
Napier, a former teacher from Sherborne in Dorset, was at one time treasurer of the Paedophile Information Exchange.
read more http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-34385091
Charles Napier and Richard Alston
An earlier police investigation recovered a letter by Charles Napier bragging of being able to send obscene images back to Britain in diplomatic bags, and of easy access to young boys while working for the British Council in Cairo.
Charles Napier joined the British Council after his 1972 conviction.
Many questions remain unanswered including who were Napier’s referees for his employment with the British Council
Prince Philip is godfather to Henniker’s son
Henniker ran the Islington /Suffolk Project – a scheme for disadvantaged children from Islington to have country holidays in rural Suffolk.
Henniker was Director of the British Council (1968-72).
Paedophile Peter Righton was allowed to live at the Thornham Magna estate of Lord Henniker in Suffolk, where children from Islington continued to be taken, apparently until his death; Tom Watson wrote that the Chief Constable of Suffolk warned against Righton being allowed to live at the estate but was ignored.
“Lord Henniker, 77, told the Standard he did not know Righton and was not responsible for him living on the estate”
Righton was convicted by a magistrates court in September 1992 of importing child pornography magazines and photographs after Customs and Excise intercepted material being sent to him from the Netherlands that April.
A police raid on his home, where he lived with Richard Alston, uncovered other paedophile magazines, and letters to and from other paedophiles containing details of abuse. He was fined £900 with £75 costs for importing child abuse images, had the magazines destroyed, and was cautioned for an historical assault.
Sir Peter Hayman and Lord Henniker were at Stowe School together
Foreign Office, 1966. Sir Peter Hayman Under Secretary of State. Lord Henniker Assistant Under Secretary of State
Sir Peter Hayman and wife Rosemary Eardley Blomefield
Charles Napier is cousin to paedophile diplomat Sir Peter Hayman’s wife.
Current governor of Pitcairn
Honoured to be Governor of #Pitcairn.
Sworn in today by Chief Justice Charles Blackie – Judges are appointed by the Governor of the Pitcairn Islands under instruction from Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II.
The Governor General of Pitcairn – Jonathan Sinclair – last seen advising Jack Straw on the invasion of Iraq
Even Jonathan Sinclair however despite seemingly having no other job than running the island these days isn’t silly enough to actually live in the place he’s supposed to control.
Jack Straw also chairman of governors for Pimlico Comp School with gov Ashley Bramall
Jack Straw tried to pass legislation to make it illegal in Part 2 of the Children, Schools and Families Act 2010 or Children in Childrens Homes to speak out.
Another island … St Helena
Vicount Ian Kerr CGC @IanKerr
How far back does the child abuse go on the British territory of St Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha? The 50’s, the 60’s ?
St Helena child abuse: Foreign Office ‘was warned British island couldn’t cope 12 years ago’
Exclusive investigation: child abuse “ignored throughout” St Helena, where men who abused children were fined as little as £50
18 Jan 2015
The Foreign Office knew the British territory of St Helena “couldn’t cope” with child abuse as long ago as 2002 but failed to order an independent inquiry for 12 years, a retired senior civil servant has claimed.
Ivy Ellick, a former head of public health and social services on the island, said she delivered the warning in a meeting with the British government. At least 20 children were sexually abused on the South Atlantic island, which has a population of only 4,500, during the years between the warning and the inquiry.
Establishment paedophiles, including a social work manager who advised on child protection and a deputy manager of a sheltered accommodation complex, were not brought to justice. Both men were finally sentenced in the past two years.
During this period, the Foreign Office repeatedly assured the United Nations that there was “no evidence” of sexual exploitation of children on the island, where seven out of 11 prisoners are child sex offenders. A new prison is being built that could accommodate up to one in 50 of the island’s men.
The British government launched the inquiry, headed by Sasha Wass, the QC who prosecuted Rolf Harris, last year after whistleblowers detailed abuse and an alleged cover-up by the island’s government and the Foreign Office.
The island has been administered by the Crown since 1834. The Foreign Office appoints its governor and the Department for International Development funds dozens of government posts.
Mrs Ellick’s claims are published as a Telegraph investigation discloses:
• Child abuse was “ignored throughout society” until recently, according to an official report, and men who sexually abused children were handed fines of as little as £50;
• The sheltered accommodation worker, Leslie Clingham, was not brought to court until seven years after he admitted to police that he had sexually abused a child. He continued to work for the government and was allowed to have a relationship with a sheltered accommodation resident who had suffered a stroke;
Jeromy Cairns-Wicks, former police officer and social worker, has been jailed (SAMS)
• In June 2013, a Dorset Police report failed to substantiate any criminal allegations against Jeromy Cairns-Wicks, the former social work manager, or to suspend him from his job as a police officer. Five months later, after Cairns-Wicks was imprisoned for separate firearms offences, he was finally sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old. Pam Trevillion, who produced the Dorset report, has since been employed as the island’s head of crime, running child abuse investigations;
• The police were not told that a 15-year-old girl was pregnant on Ascension island, a dependency of St Helena, until four days after she was flown to Britain for medical care. Police suspected the father was five years older and launched a criminal investigation. No prosecution was ever brought;
Mrs Ellick, who was awarded an OBE in 2004 for her 46-year career in the St Helenian government, said she delivered her warning in a meeting with the Foreign Office in 2002, saying that the island did not have the resources to meet its convention obligations to the United Nations to protect its children.
A UK-qualified social worker was subsequently appointed for a three-year term to train local staff, but they often left the island, where government employees earn as little as £5,000 a year, once they were qualified. “This happened every time,” she said. “It was very difficult, and still is, to retain staff because of the low wages.
“They [the Foreign Office] were aware that we didn’t have the resources to cope with it because we’ve been pointing it out ever since. I said they were unfair to expect us to do it without the resources.
“I said to them, ‘you’ve signed up to this convention, but it’s going to require big money and we don’t have the social workers nor the resources to do it’.
“We did have some convictions of child abuse but some of them didn’t reach conviction because we didn’t have the resources to do proper investigations. The police weren’t equipped enough, they didn’t have all the tools that were necessary.
“People were actually brought to court but once they were before the judge the case got thrown out on technical points. It happened on a couple of occasions when I was in the health and social services department.”
The British social workers, Claire Gannon and Martin Warsama, who worked on the island in 2013 and triggered the Wass inquiry, are now suing the Foreign Office claiming they lost their jobs because of their whistleblowing.
At the same time, they are being investigated over alleged perjury in an adoption case on Ascension island and could eventually be extradited back to St Helena to be tried by the very criminal justice system they complained about.
“Which whistleblower would stand up if it meant removal from their place of work or even the UK?” said Lawrence Davies, director of Equal Justice Solicitors, who is representing them. “The spectre of extradition is a horrible thing for these British whistleblowers to have to live with.”
Twenty-seven men are on the island’s recently introduced sex offenders’ register out of a total male population of around 2,000, more than six times the figure per head in England and Wales.
The Telegraph investigation also found a children’s disco had to be cancelled because of “voyeurs” hoping to watch “young children gyrating on the floor”.
Islanders with learning difficulties and disabilities were said to be kept in “Victorian” conditions in its “challenging behaviour unit”. They will only move to purpose-built accommodation next month. The island’s government denied a reporter access to the unit.
Dr Karen Harrison, an expert in sex offender sentencing from the University of Hull, said the fines amounted to “a slap on the wrist” and “suggests the offence isn’t taken seriously”.
Comparing the fines for child sex offenders to heftier penalties sometimes awarded in other cases, Dave Gardiner, who has worked in the British probation service for 30 years, said “you were better off worrying children than sheep” on the island. “The fines don’t mark society’s disapproval,” he said. “Fining people for sexual abuse is just not tackling the abuse.”
Dorset Police confirmed that Ms Trevillion conducted an investigation on behalf of the Foreign Office into an allegation against a St Helena police officer but declined to comment further.
A Foreign Office (FCO) spokesman said: “We take all measures of child abuse very seriously. Where we could act, we believe we have. In recent years, we have sent police to provide training, investigate cases and look at the effectiveness of policing on St Helena.
“In 2013, the FCO sent a chid safeguarding non-governmental organisation to St Helena to investigate child protection and there have also been visits from other child safeguarding experts. The FCO has also dedicated extra resource to child safeguarding.
“However, we know from the current allegations that there is more to do to make sure that children on St Helena are given the right level of protection. That is why the Foreign Secretary launched the Wass inquiry which will look at these allegations.”
A St Helena government spokesman said it “welcomed” the Wass inquiry and “looks forward to giving it the fullest cooperation”. He said the investigation into Cairns-Wicks “was in fact undertaken by St Helena police with independent oversight from Pam Trevillion, and resulted in a guilty plea and a significant sentence”.
Tiny remote island visited by royal family – a “paedophile paradise”
1925: HRH Edward, Prince of Wales
1936: Lord and Lady Baden-Powell
Lord and Lady Baden-Powell arrived at St, Helena on 11th May 1936, on the ship ‘Llandovery Castle’.
Their visit was marked with celebrations by the island’s scouts and guides.
Scouting was started on St Helena in 1915 by Canon L C Walcott. Guiding was started in 1921 by his wife Winifred.
1947: HRH King George VI
1957: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
1984: HRH Prince Andrew
HRH the Prince Andrew, 19th February 1960-, is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II.
A song was composed to welcome Prince Andrew to the island:
Dance at the Paramount
He visited St Helena as a member of the armed forces, arriving on 5th April 1984, travelling aboard the HMS Herald. In addition to massive celebrations with marching and singing, a dance was held at the Paramount Cinema and Prince Andrew was treated to a performance of ‘Fibre’, a musical produced by children from the island’s schools. After ‘novelty sports’ on Francis Plain he departed at 9pm the following day.
It was announced in advance that there would be no alcohol on sale during the event on Francis Plain, resulting in a veritable flood of letters of protest in the St Helena News Review!
The island’s new secondary school is named after him, in honour of the visit.
The image (below) shows him stepping ashore, alighting from his launch by swinging on the rope, just as everyone still does: islanders, visitors, Governors and even royal personages!{i} Note also Governor Massingham in full traditional uniform, including the Governor’s Hat. While alighting from the boat before Prince Andrew Governor Massingham very nearly fell into the water.
2002: HRH Anne, The Princess Royal
HRH Anne, The Princess Royal, 15th August 1950-, is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
She arrived here on 15th November 2002. After a welcoming speech from Governor Hollamby (right) and parade in Jamestown she visited the Museum of St Helena and hospital, then unveiled the dedication plaque for the island’s ‘Princess Royal Community Care Complex’ (photo, left), a residential home for the elderly in Half Tree Hollow. The following day she visited the various Napoleonic sites; opened the Quincy Vale sheltered accommodation{24}; and attended an agricultural show on Francis Plain and a concert at Prince Andrew’s School.
We have a small gallery of photos from the visit and other images (below). You can also read a report (506.0Kb) from the St Helena Herald 29th November 2002.
St Helena child abuse claims dismissed as ‘gross distortion of reality’
Inquiry says social workers’ allegations and reports labelling territory ‘paedophile’s paradise’ were ‘totally misleading’
Barrister Sasha Wass QC, who led the investigation, said allegations of widespread abuse and press reports, which labelled St Helena as a “paedophiles’ paradise”, gave a “totally misleading” picture.
The senior barrister berated “whistleblower” social workers for making claims “in order to deflect from their own incompetence and wrongdoing”. Ms Wass found “no truth” in any of the allegations and that no cover-up by either the UK or St Helena governments had taken place.
Concerns about police corruption and child sexual exploitation had been raised by then Lib Dem MP John Hemming and by former St Helena Government employees.
The report also strongly criticised the findings of a previous investigation by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation charity in 2013. The Government commissioned report found that “the grooming of girls in their early teenage years by older men was seen as being a significant issue which needs comprehensive attention”.
Ms Wass dismissed the Foundation’s findings as “biased and distorted”.
Barrister Sasha Wass QCserved as the defence lawyer for Rosemary West, a serial killer convicted of murdering 10 victims including two daughters along with her husband Fred, in a place known as Gloucester’s House of Horrors.
The Opening of ‘The World’s Most Useless Airport’ in Remote Saint Helena
Oct 17, 2017
Last weekend, after five years of construction and controversy, the tiny and isolated British island of Saint Helena welcomed its first scheduled commercial flight. Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, is one of the most remote islands in the world—a volcanic outcrop with an area of only 47 square miles.
The new airport, servicing the 4,500 island inhabitants with flights from South Africa, was built at a cost of $374 million.
In 2010, the British (then coalition) government justified the cost of the airport arguing that the “additional short-term costs of constructing an airport are outweighed by the long-term benefits.” The island receives more than £53m in aid every year and the average annual salary of the 4,534 inhabitants is only £7,280.
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