Mike Robinson is in conversation with Brian Gerrish and David Scott on UK Column News, 23 March 2018:
"We`ve got to start adopting children faster..." says Mike Robinson... "So five new regional adoption agencies have been granted £3.4 million by the government as part of the government`s ambition to create a world leading adoption system with faster matchings of children who are placed in loving stable homes more quickly. So this additional funding is going to 17 councils to speed up the matching process between children awaiting adoption and adoptive families. And who`s involved? "
"The new Regional Adoption Agencies and the local authorities involved are:
Kent: made up of Kent, Bexley and Medway. Coast to Coast: Cumbria, Durham and Sunderland Lancashire: Blackpool and Lancashire.Ambitious for Adoption: Harrow, Bromley, Redbridge, City of London and Slough. Adoption for South East: Surrey, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove."
"And so apparently [they] will also provide more support for adoptive families going through the process and for those considering adoption as well as helping to improve the quality of services locally."
"Now this might sound to most people to be quite reasonable but we just bring people`s attention once again to this: Family court secrecy lets judges get away with mistakes, senior judge says. Sir James Munby who was in the press a couple of days ago expressing concerns once again of the secrecy in the family court system which seems to allow judges, he says, to get away with making, what he calls, mistakes."
"We have seen plenty of evidence to suggest that they`re not mistakes at all; in fact, judges accepting perjury in court, and so on; children being stolen from their homes and put into the adoption system. So he was speaking at an event last Tuesday and he said that judges were grotesquely overworked, that they were tired, and so more likely to make mistakes. But in a previous conversation James Munby had made the point, Brian; in many cases when parents are subject to these type of procedures; when the proceedings are completed; that they come out of court basically not understanding what has happened to them. So this process for parents who are having children taken away from them can be so brutal that they come out effectively traumatised."
Brian Gerish: "It is brutal Mike; there`s no question of it; and I`m not quite sure where James Munby is coming from on this, because as you say, tiredness eh? No. Incompetence? Possibly. But when of course a court refuses to take video evidence of the abuse of children then we`re into a very interesting situation and that`s happening up in the Midlands and of course we`ve got the case reported on yesterday where a man is trying to set up a business to film children being abused and he says: `Don`t worry because the ... clients are top politicians. There`s been a wall of silence over that Southern Crown Court case."
"So I think Sir James Munby needs to answer a lot more detailed questions. We can also ask what he actually discussed when he went into that East European Embassy a couple of years ago and had secret meetings over child adoption issues."
Mike Robinson: "Yes, David, it seems to me that what`s going on here is we`ve got a £13.4 million bung from the government to help develop an industry and we might use the word trafficking in a certain sense with regard to what`s going on here."
David Scott: "... Yes, why is the money needed? Where does the money go? It is an industry; ... it used to be a personal commitment to help another human being, to help a child; and the question I`ve asked via Twitter - I`ve asked my local authority because they`re always tweeting about how you campaign for adoption - the question that they don`t ask is: `how many of the children up for adoption are against the wishes of the parents, against the wishes of the child?` ... Well you`re not meant to answer that."
"BBC journalists are to visit schools to teach children how to identify fake news. The initiative has been designed to tackle false information that the corporation says `threatens fact-based public debate and trust in journalism`."
"Details of the scheme, which will involve up to 1,000 schools, will be outlined in the BBC’s annual plan on Wednesday. It will include BBC journalists such as Huw Edwards, Tina Daheley, Nikki Fox, Kamal Ahmed and Amol Rajan. The details come after Ofcom, the communications regulator, warned that children were being increasingly exposed to fake news, with nearly half of 12 to 15-year-olds finding it difficult to tell fact from fiction on social media...."
"Another area of focus believed to be in the plan involves maximising the BBC's global reach, with `BBC World Service undergoing its biggest expansion since the 1940s`."
"A BBC source said: `The BBC can and will do more for Britain at an important time. Our aim will be to bring the public together while challenging fake news and false facts. The world is changing fast and Britain's media sector is still the envy of the world. We need to enhance and protect that against new global challenges`."
Seidenberg: "I think parents need to be alert because we usually assume that if we’re sending our child to school, the educators will be able to take over and will have the training to be able to teach kids to read and learn other things. Middle-class parents already know that they have to supplement what goes on in the classroom: They know that it’s expected that they will work with the children at home to fill in things that are not being taught in the classroom. Lots of things are sort of being outsourced, but that model assumes that there’s a parent in the home who can help, who speaks the language, who’s available. And that’s not going to be true in many cases. It’s not going to be true if the parents are low-income and they’re working multiple jobs. It’s not going to be true if there isn’t an adult in the home who is a native speaker of the language. And it’s not going to be true because people from a lower-income background may not be as aware that the way kids are taught kind of assumes that they’re going do some of the heavy lifting." "So parents need to understand that the schools have shifted some of the burden for instruction onto them, and I think they should push back. I think they should say, ‘Hey, schools have the responsibility for teaching children basic kinds of skills, and parents are not professional teachers. Parents are not educators. And moreover, parents may not have the backgrounds, skills, or financial resources to fill in the gaps.’ So hold the schools to the obligation to teach children to read and not assume that the parents or caregivers are going to pick up the slack." https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/11/the-ignored-science-that-could-help-close-the-achievement-gap/506498/?utm_source=twb
Emma Hunter, aged 20, from Dundee, is a Digital Modern Apprentice working with the Year of Young People 2018 team...
"I’ve always taken an interest in current affairs, especially those surrounding my own generation. I attended the Scottish Young People’s Conference in 2016 and was lucky enough to ask the Scottish Education Secretary questions about mental health care for young people. This is an issue close to my own heart and I found the opportunity eye-opening, as it was a room of like-minded people who all wanted their voices heard...."
"I come from a background of adoption and also spent time in foster care. Unfortunately, when I was growing up I didn’t have access to a forum where I could give my thoughts and feelings about this subject. As well as this, I’ve spent time working with children in a foster family and they also felt like their voices were not being heard. A platform where people can share stories or simply read about other people is something that Year of Young People can offer."
"A boy was held in council care for so long that his own mother failed to recognise him, a judge revealed yesterday." "Social workers wrongly kept the child away from his birth family for eight years, Mr Justice Keehan said." "The boy, now 16, was ‘dramatically affected’ when he saw his mother on the street and she did not know who he was." "He was one of 19 youngsters ‘wrongly and abusively’ removed from their parents in Herefordshire without court approval." "They were left in limbo by social workers who did nothing to plan or guide their futures, according to the family court ruling published yesterday." "The 16-year-old’s mother demanded that her son be given back to her a year after he had been taken away, the judge disclosed." "But social workers merely ‘advised the mother to seek legal advice’."
On UK Column News, 12 March 2018, Brian Gerrish and Mike Robinson were joined by David Scott of Northern Exposure via video link.
"Of course," begins Brian Gerrish, "Over the week-end on Saturday, Edinburgh, they had the launch of the FreshStartFoundation. FreshStart [are] looking to conduct a public inquiry into child abuse in Scotland and ... this has become necessary because of the total lack of public confidence in the official government run child abuse inquiry. So we`ll just bring on screen the advert for that event... Here we are - The People`s Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. I must say, in my opinion, it was a great success but we`ve gor David Scott to speak to us directly about what took place."
"Yes, we also were very pleased ... We found that we finished the day better informed than we started it. The comments from the floor and the quality of the people who were coming along and getting involved was excellent and it was a really first class day and a very good start to the ... road show programme." "Yes, and David I have to say it`s always an emotional time when you are with people who have been through the system. They`re survivors, really remarkable to have endured what they have; but, of course, what comes forward from them very strongly is that they are still very much searching for justice; and they have little to no confidence in all of the organisations which the government would have us believe are protecting children. So whether that`s the local authority or it`s some of the major charities, like NSPCC or Barnardo`s or some of the other organisations that are publicly funded to assist, it`s really - I`ll say sad - but I think a much stronger word is needed - it`s very sad that we`ve got so many people who`ve been abused in the system as children and yet they have absolutely no confidence in the government, be it in Scotland, or down in Westminster, to actually take the necessary action..." David Scott: "One of many things I learned during the event was that there were people there who had been instrumental, who had themselves been harmed by sexual abuse, and they had been instrumental and devoted years to working with the government to build institutions and build a mechanism by which truth and justice and some form of remedy could be provided. And they`re telling me that these institutions, that they`ve helped build to address the problem, are themselves being subverted by government; are being essentially destroyed. So yes, we are seeing people who are looking for somewhere to go ... We hope we`ll be able to provide a point for these people to gather together and work together and make something happen." "We hope to provide a means of resisting further attacks because the use of language, the use of policy ... the use of attacks on families... the use of attacks on children, via policy, via changes in language, via ideas being introduced ... are not conducive to human thriving and to protection of children ... We hope to be able to address this as well and provide people with the language and the understanding to fight back." Brian Gerrish: "The other point I`d like to make is that as far as I was aware there was absolutely no attendance from so-called mainstream or indeed local press or media at that event, nor did I see attempted engagement by local authorities` child care social services themselves. So it appears when the survivors get together to speak out: what`s really happened and what they really think about the system, the system itself runs away. They don`t want to know; they don`t want to publish; they don`t want to broadcast that people are starting to meet in order to address this thing themselves. You could also say that`s very sad, but I have to say it`s more sinister than that. I think this is an orchestrated cover-up. There`s a blanking of reporting these type of events." Mike Robinson: "Right, so that was Saturday. The next one, David, is 17 March, next Saturday and John Wedger will be attending that. That`s in Stirling. Details are on screen at the moment [5.26] and we`ll put the details on the UK Column events page as well, on the UK Column website." "But David you were talking about policy a second ago and where`s the policy coming from? You have published this article on the UK Column yesterday. Curiouser and Curiouser: Paedophile Networks and the Children`s Rights Movement. This article is already starting to move on social media and so on. Just give us the background to this because it`s a massive story." "Yes. Peter Newell, he was reported in the mainstream media... Peter Newell, who was described as a children`s rights campaigner, had been convicted of multiple rape back in the sixties. This is a very old case. Like so many of these, it takes a long time to come forward. He was tried; he was convicted and he was sentenced to over eight years in prison; and that seemed to be the story." "It really wasn`t and people started to say: `Well look more closely at this man; he`s everywhere`. He indeed is." "Now we`ve looked - I suspect we`ve only got some of his links in this article - but we started off with a look at one of his charities which was campaigning to end smacking.and hence change the legal position of children. And that was called The Children are Unbeatable and this was linked to an enormous network of children`s charities in the UK. And so huge was this network, so well connected was this man, that the only way we could describe it was to actually list them... The article contains an enormous list of all these interconnected children`s charities; and they were all supporting, funding, paying his salary and of course this is a convicted paedophile. "
"But when we looked further, the links went much further than that; they went international. So he was linked to overseas and international charities and these tie up all across the globe. He`s in Africa; he`s in South America; he`s in Asia and then he is also in the UN. And it transpires that this is the man who wrote the [implementation] handbook for the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Now this is a huge three volume work; he wrote it together with his wife; it`s still the official line on everything to do with the rights of the child; it`s policy in the UN. It has been implemented in Scotland, England, Wales, all across the world and it was written by a paedophile." Mike Robinson: "In the article, towards the end, David, you draw parallels with Kinsey. And it does seem strange, when we look at serious policy regarding children, we have some pretty dodgy characters involved in formulating that policy." David Scott: "Yes the policy is coming in and the policy ... strikes people as strange; it strikes people as odd. They notice in schools; well we`re having these strange forms of education - you know sex ed and all the rest of it - and we feel uneasy about it. And some people are starting to... say these policies come in, the problems actually get much worse. We didn`t have a problem with teenage pregnancy but now we`ve got this new education programme ... all of a sudden we do. Then when you start following this back to the individuals that generate this policy - yes you`re quite right. Dodgy is being generous."
"Peter Newell: Coordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, launched in 2001, and of the `Children are Unbeatable` Alliance in the United Kingdom. He chaired the Council of the Children`s Rights Alliance for England from 1992 to 2002. He was a member of the NGO Advisory Panel for the United Nations Secretary- General`s Study on Violence Against Children and also of the Independent Expert`s Editorial Board for the Study, 2004 - 2006. He has written various commentaries on children`s rights in the United Kingdom and also a detailed proposal for a children`s rights commissioner, published as Taking Children Seriously."
Mike Robinson then takes the discussion towards the Telford child sex abuse scandal: He says: "This situation seems to be running right across the UK. We`ve had Rotherham. We`ve got Telford. We`ve got other examples - Glasgow as well..." View more here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=771eTvV2H7Q
"Up to 1,000 children could have suffered in Britain’s worst known abuse scandal - where sex gangs targeted girls as young as 11." "The rape hell of vulnerable young girls in one town - Telford - went on for a shocking 40 years, the Sunday Mirror can reveal." "As many as 1,000 children could have suffered at the merciless hands of perverts and torturers in Telford since the 1980s." "Girls as young as 11 have been lured from their families to be drugged, beaten and raped in an epidemic that, say victims, is still ongoing." "THREE people were murdered and two others died in tragedies linked to the scandal." "Despite similar high-profile cases in Rochdale and Rotherham, authorities in Telford repeatedly failed to stamp out a network of abusers." Read more https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-worst-ever-child-grooming-1216552http://invisibleserfscollar.com/
"A drugs counsellor and former user told the BBC the NHS was `creating drug addicts`." "The Royal College of GPs said doctors would not prescribe opioid painkillers as a `quick fix`." "Opioids such as morphine, tramadol and fentanyl are super-strength painkillers, which can be highly addictive and can kill if misused." "An investigation by BBC News has found: More than two million working age people in England are estimated to have taken a prescription painkiller that was not prescribed for them in 2016-17.
GPs in England prescribed 23.8 million opioid-based painkillers in 2017, the equivalent of 2,700 items every hour.
This was 10 million more prescriptions than in 2007. The prescribing rate of opioid painkillers in parts of northern England is four times higher than in London.""The latest figures show the number of people dying from opioid-related drug misuse has reached a record high in England and Wales. About 3,700 people died in 2016 because of drug misuse." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43304375
This problem has reached epidemic proportions in the United States:
UK Column 7 March 2018 Mike Robinson: "We`re starting with the Sun and the Sun has this headline, Miracle in the Rubble: Incredible moment baby is rescued alive after being buried by bombed building in Syria and they have a warning `it contains footage some people may find distressing`." "Well it wouldn`t surprise me if they find it distressing because apparently these guys, just digging at random, find something and they just drag it out of a hole and then it gets a bit of a slap and then they run off with it. There`s no medical diagnosis; there`s no doctors there; if this is really a baby then they would have harmed the baby. But the Sun says: `This is a miracle, a miracle in the rubble.` Well later on in the video we come across this still and let`s just have a look. I don`t know. That could be a real baby .... but it looks very doll-like to me."
Mike Robinson then goes on to criticise the Sun for not questioning the way the White Helmets are approaching their work: "And if it is not a child, in fact, if this is a plastic doll which it looks like from that still, then why are you not asking about the veracity of this, and whether it is propaganda or not?"
"It is a disgrace. The British media has become a disgrace and so I want to remind everyone once again of Media on Trial coming up in Leeds on 27 May and the question that is being asked at that event is `Has the UK mainstream media, is it in breach of the Terrorism Act in this country as the result of effectively shilling for terrorists in Syria and other parts of the Middle East and in fact embedding themselves with terrorists when they do go to the Middle East to report?` So I would suggest as many people as possible get along to that because this is a serious question that needs to be answered."
"Serious question," Brian Gerrish concurs: "And of course we see the British government attempting to close down in ever more draconian ways on other media sources. So either we stand up for those sources or we`re going to lose them." =========== Brian Gerrish: "Well on matters policing let`s have a look at Mike Veale. Now we`re going to thank a gentleman who sent me an email. He did identify himself but he said what had happened to Mike Veale? I replied that UK Column had said that Mike Veale had gone on to be Chief Constable at Cleveland Police. But going to have a little look to see how he was getting on, I was astonished to find that we`d missed this little spat. This is end of January but here was Mike Veale`s appointment and my goodness that had stirred up some controversy."
"So there`s a headline here: Tees Mayor: New Cleveland Police Chief Constable Mike Veale `shouldn`t be taking charge`. So the mayor particularly outspoken. Of course the mayor is conservative. Well one of the local MPs, also very outspoken, Simon Clarke, also a conservative. Could I think Mike that they were getting a little bit sweaty at the thought that Mike Veale was a bit too close with knowing the truth about Ted Heath and the abuse of children?" "So let`s have a look at what the mayor said: `Mike Veale shouldn`t be taking charge and Barry Coppinger [Police Commissionerwho selected him] and Cleveland Police really need to seriously reconsider appointing him... I have absolutely no faith that our new Chief Constable will be able to provide the support that is required for our frontline police officers to fulfil their duty to protect the public`..." "That`s a remarkable statement Mike in view of the ... immense problems inside Cleveland Police with corruption and lies and bullying and a whole range of other things ." Mike Robinson: "But aside from that, Mike Veale absolutely stood up for his officers who were investigating Ted Heath and who were recipients of such disgraceful abuse while they were in Wiltshire Police. So he stood up for .... his policemen. Any suggestion that he wouldn`t do the same in Cleveland is nuts." Brian Gerrish: "Well I think he will do the same and I think he`s capable of doing the job. So we`ve got all the local conservatives sweating that a man who drilled into the very dark art of the Conservative Party could cause them some problems. So these people are not interested about good policing to protect people in the area. All they`re interested in is protecting the reputation of the Conservative Party. That has to be an oxymoron." "So let`s bring in that MP. Here he is, Simon Clarke. `I have real concerns about the appointment of Mike Veale as our new Chief Constable and think the Police and Crime Commissioner and the appointments panel face serious questions ... We all know Cleveland Police has a huge task on its hands to restore public confidence in its leadership. This news makes that task harder rather than easier... I will be raising all these questions with the new Chief Constable and the PCC and I am requesting a meeting`..." "So there`s another tory who is lashing into Mike Veale, the man brave enough to stand up and do his job, and that included investigating former conservative Prime Minister Ted Heath and child abuse..." "So where does this leave us? Well we`ve learnt more. Actually Chief Constable Mike Veale is being accused of a crime at the moment. Can you imagine what sort of crime this man may have committed? " "No." "It requires an investigation." "No." "A full one, ongoing." "OK," "It`s this. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating Mr Veale over a claim he deliberately damaged a work phone." "There`s this constable who`s put his whole career on the line to do what is right for children being abused but he might have damaged a police phone. And this is being investigated. There was also a previous investigation that was dropped because ,of course, it was complete nonsense. So the GazetteLive introduces that adding to the text. `He was also referred to the watchdog over a since-dismissed claim he leaked information about Operation Conifer, the Sir Edward Heath paedophile investigation which he led while head of Wiltshire Police.` So this is a disgraceful police officer, damaged, or possibly damaged, a police phone and who`s carrying out the investigation ?" "Well it`s our old friend the Independent Office for Police Conduct and we`ve highlighted them because when they investigated the testimony of MET child abuse whistleblower John Wedger they found that there was `no evidence to support ex MET Det John Wedger`s statement` that when he talked about children who were abused, he was bullied, harassed and told to shut up." "So they can investigate a phone but they can`t investigate Mr [Wedger`s allegations]... This is what Mike Lockwood had to say about Mr Veale." "`The IOPC has however decided to independently investigate a second part of the referral relating to allegations that a mobile phone belonging to Wiltshire Police was deliberately damaged by Chief Constable Mike Veale ... This investigation is in its early stages` ..." "Is this man a muppet Mike or is he some form of silicon doll imported from China? I don`t know ..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1T8gtKzWyk
"Education Secretary John Swinney has been asked to detail meetings between government officials and witnesses to a Holyrood committee regarding named person legislation." "The written request comes after Mr Swinney was asked to provide assurances in November over questions on whether `the Scottish Government sought to directly influence evidence to the committee`." "The Scottish Parliament's Education and Skills Committee has written to the Cabinet Secretary as some members are concerned his previous answers `did not fully address matters raised`." "Now, the committee has set out 16 points for Mr Swinney to address with a `detailed timeline` including dates that witnesses providing evidence were approached by Scottish Government officials, ministers or special advisers and the `rationale` behind the contact." "Further details requested are whether Scottish Government officials acted unilaterally regarding meetings with witnesses or if Mr Swinney or his advisers gave them instruction..." "Labour's education spokesman Iain Gray praised the committee's actions, saying it is `demanding answers on the suspicion that Scottish government exerted pressure on their witnesses prior to evidence on Named Person Bill`." https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2018/02/21/education-secretary-faces-questions-over-witness-contact-on-name/
"A review into the role of social workers in adoptions, commissioned by BASW, criticised the current practice of denying children close contact with their birth families."
"The review, carried out by academics at the University of Huddersfield and Royal Holloway University of London, said that severing ties with birth families can have a detrimental effect on children's emotional wellbeing and can lead to identity issues." "`Adopted children denied contact can experience serious identity issues and when they are free to seek out their birth families at age 18, adoptive parents can be ill-prepared for the emotional consequences,` states the review." "On the back of the findings BASW is calling for a rethink of adoption law to consider a more open approach to contact between children and birth families." https://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2004980/adopted-children-should-remain-close-to-birth-families-study-suggests?sthash.ufpR75Zl.tCEv7miD.mjjo
"A PROMINENT Chester GP has avoided an immediate prison sentence after being caught with almost 17,000 indecent images of children on his computer." "Anthony Kenmore Bland, 62, also admitted pretending to be a teenage girl on social media in order to encourage another to pleasure herself." "Chester Crown Court heard he was a highly respected doctor in the city and led the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) in developing elderly care." "But he also harboured a `dark and horrible secret` having amassed a huge collection of illegal photos over a period of 10 years..." http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/16062207.Prominent_Chester_GP_caught_with_almost_17_000_indecent_images_of_children/
"Ashya King was due to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Southampton General Hospital in August 2014, when his parents fled with him to Spain. They feared the treatment being prescribed by his doctors would leave him badly brain damaged and believed his best chance lay in innovative proton beam therapy being pioneered in Europe."
"Brett and Naghemeh King were arrested in Malaga at the behest of the British authorities and jailed in Madrid for 72 hours on child cruelty charges." "But now, having received reassuring news from his son’s oncological team, Brett King said he was overcome with emotion." At home in Southsea, Hampshire he told the Daily Mail: "'My wife said to me, ‘It's all OK now, there is no need to cry’, but there were so many emotions. Happiness, relief, I can't put it into words." https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/03/ashya-king-cleared-cancer-three-years-parents-abducted-hospital/
"This week saw the launch of Guy`s and St Thomas` Charity` report `Bite Size Breaking down the challenge of inner city childhood obesity.` Rising childhood obesity is often seen as a classic wicked issue, rising inexorably around the world year after year. It also varies by geographical area and social class, cruelly concentrated in the most disadvantaged areas and populations – a hollow irony for a so-called ‘disease of affluence’." "The new report, which BIT contributed to, stresses that most of our daily decisions are automatic. Deciding what we eat, whether that quick pre-meeting lunch or late supper, are classic examples of this automatic or "fast" thinking..." "With many families suffering from a lack of time, money and headspace, the ineffectiveness of effortful interventions is hardly surprising. Perhaps the most important message in the report is that we must make healthier choices as easy as possible for children and their parents." http://www.behaviouralinsights.co.uk/health/tackling-inner-city-childhood-obesity/
Deprivation, lack of rationality, not having the head space to make healthy decisions are linked together in the video. This may be Guy`s and St Thomas` Charity video, but they did work alongside the Behavioural Insights Team which does know what it is doing. BIT studies know how to influence people. That is why I suggest that there is a subliminal message here. The message is that deprivation, lack of rationality, not having the head space to make healthy decisions are problems of the poor, not problems of the more affluent. So on one level, this article and the video appear to be about nutrition and a willingness to help the less fortunate, but actually, on another level it is merely a reinforcement of an attitude that is being constantly encouraged. The poor have only themselves to blame. After all they are totally irrational (stupid) but not to worry we (fill in the blanks) are here to help. Those who truly want to understand obesity and the reason it is increasing globally should look at the food industry. How has it changed? Why is it that wherever the western food industry goes in the world, so does obesity?
There lies the answer. Inner city childhood obesity is an obfuscation and part of another agenda.
Mike Robinson: "We`re going to start off [with] Don`t let the Weather get you Down...because it is world book day. We know that totalitarian regimes in the past don`t like books much but we`re going to celebrate World Book Day. We know they don`t like them in the past because what they tend to do is to burn them. This is a form of censorship of course. "
"So we have to report a similar form of censorship because the John Wedger interview that you`ve been pointing people to over the last couple of days Brian has been taken down and the Youtube channel GeorgeGreekTrucker has been closed. The account associated with this video has been terminated. So we`re burning books effectively here because it seems we don`t want - as a nation, government and establishment media - we don`t want any dissenting voices in this regime." Brian Gerrish: "We don`t want any dissenting voices. The government don`t want to be challenged in any way. The government doesn`t want to have to explain its policies. It doesn`t want to produce evidence. So I think there`s a number of issues under the surface here and we`ll say also the fact that this is happening I think is a very good sign because it shows that simple `people power`, people putting out accurate material over the internet is now frightening the government and this is the backlash. So we can see them more clearly."
Mike Robinson. "Yeah. It`s not just individual accounts either, obviously. Richie Allen`s account recently has been taken down on Youtube; other alternative media accounts in the last few days: Alex Jones is even under attack as well. So this has become quite a broad problem. So if you want to find this interview now it is with Bitchute which is a Youtube alternative and the url is at the top there if you want to go and listen to that interview. If you haven`t heard it yet, we do suggest you listen to it."
Brian Gerrish. "We certainly do. Now I`m going to attempt in the short time available to take people through what`s been happening in the John Wedger case. It`s clearly hotting up and yesterday afternoon I took some extraordinary calls from media people responding from the establishment about the John Wedger case."
"This was the original BBC 3 Counties radio screenshot that was taken down, but Andy Collins was the main interviewer for John Wedger. And let`s remember that police whistleblower John Wedger also had alongside him in that interview former police lady Maggie Oliver and one of the key things that comes forward is she`s saying, `Yes the bullying, the threats, the intimidation that John`s suffered, I`ve suffered as well. This is the pattern.` ... We know that not one, but two - and there`s a lot more police officers come forward talking about what is really happening: the fraud, the corruption, the lies, the intimidation, the covering-up of child abuse - what do we see the state do? Well it starts to censor people reporting this information." "Now key to the report for me was this gentleman, Mike Penning, former Policing Minister and I`m going to say brave enough to stand up alongside John Wedger to be counted. He also joined John on part of a very cold section of the walk from London to Manchester but this is what he said during the interview: `I handed the whole file [that`s the John Wedger and child abuse file] tothe Home Office and it vanished... there are some strange things happening here...[and then he goes on to talk about whistleblowers as being bullied and warned off] there are other officers saying identical things... the minute they come forward they accuse [these]people of a breach of data... for the police this has a prison sentence attached to it..."
"So here we have not just an MP but former Minister for Policing. [He] puts in a file to the Home Office which is about John Wedger`s case - John Wedger saying that the police covered up the abuse and deaths of children with the help of the establishment and local authorities and charities; and that file disappears." "Now we`d emailed the Home Office," says Brian Gerrish, "Asking them questions about this. Yesterday afternoon they came back, unbelievably aggressive. They said that `Mike Penning MP gave the report to his Home Office Civil Servants.` The inference here is that because he was Policing Minister, he`s automatically got a role in the Home Office. So the Home Office media spokesperson said that basically he gave the report to his civil servants. So I said `No, Mr Penning gave the report to the Home Office for action.` And then I had to ask: `So when Mr Penning gave the report to the Home Office and says the report vanished he was confused as to what he did with his own report?` At this point the media spokesperson got quite evasive. He later became, in my opinion, aggressive but then something was said that was interesting: that `the Home Office can`t intervene in policing matters. The report went to the IPCC`. That`s what I think he said to me." "So one minute this report [has] vanished. [The next] No that`s an MP that`s confused. Then the Home Office is saying, `OK that report; we can`t possibly get involved in a policing matter. It was passed through to the IPCC`." Mike Robinson: "Doesn`t the Home Office have responsibility for policing in this country?" Brian Gerrish. "The Home Office has responsibility for policing and of course the Home Office directly under Theresa May, as Prime Minister, says that one of [her] primary goals is to deal with child abuse; except when evidence is put forward where a file vanishes. Quite remarkable. So how did it go on? Well here we sent an email to Her Majesty`s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service and we essentially asked some key points." These questions followed the watchdog`s report in which they found `significant weaknesses in Met police child protection probes. Inspectorsreviewed a sample of 214 cases and rated 191, or 89%, as either `requiring improvement`, or `inadequate.` Brian Gerrish wrote to them and said: ... "I would like a written response to the following questions:"
"1. Can HMICFRS please confirm that during their latest inspection they [were] fully aware of the appalling treatment of Det Constable Wedger and that HMICFRS took on board his evidence as to the abuse of power within the MET to silence his personal testimony and whistleblowing of the cover-up of child abuse by the MET, Local Authorities, Charities and Children`s Homes?" "2. If HMICFRS were not aware of Mr Wedger`s testimony, why were they not made aware of this case by the MET police?" "3. And finally, now being fully appraised of Mr Wedger`s testimony what action will Mr Matt Parr take to address Mr Wedger`s evidence in light of the findings of HMICFRS`s current report?"
"So this is what they came back with. It says:" "`For our national child protection inspection programme, we follow a set methodology which is the same for all forces. This looks at every stage of contact a child has with the police, and includes examining the experiences of children detained in custody. HMICFRS was aware of John Wedger`s testimony due to what was reported in the public domain. However, this case was not considered as part of this inspection, given the specifics of our methodology. Our Metropolitan Police Service child protection inspection report and subsequent follow-up reviews provide a robust and in-depth analysis of the force`s performance, and where improvements are needed. HMICFRS continues to closely monitor the Met`s performance in the area`." Bran Gerrish. "So they claim that they did a robust investigation by not looking at the evidence." Mike Robinson. "This is a staggering statement... So what they`re saying is - correct me if I`m wrong here - what they seem to be saying is that they look at the Met`s treatment of children detained in custody... and because John Wedger was making allegations of investigations which weren`t being carried out, therefore no children being brought into police custody, no children being interviewed by the police, they said that`s outside the remit of their investigation. So how are they supposed to inspect the constabulary and find out if the constabulary is doing its job or not, if they don`t look at allegations of the constabulary not doing its job?" Brian Gerrish. "Turn it on its head Mike; and that is by not looking at the evidence you are not really examining what the police are up to; and that is what your real job is. So these are the words from that organisation themselves. I`ve put another challenge into them today because, as we get the response from the Home Office, as we get the response from HMICFRS; and we`re now going to go on to one more - we can see that the evidence is before us... there`s a picture forming. " "Now what is that picture ? It could be simply of incompetence that John Wedger`s file had been lost. But I think that when you put these very devious and carefully constructed media team reports together you can start to smell that something is very wrong here. So let`s come on to the next one. This is the UK Column email to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)." Mike Robinson steps in to mention that the IOPC is the replacement for the IPCC. Brian Gerrish. "Yeah this one is the replacement." Mike Robinson. "So this is the organisation that the Home Office claims has been the ultimate recipient of John Wedger`s file?" Brian Gerrish. "Yes, it would appear so Mike." "So we gave them a reminder of the BBC 3 Counties radio [programme] and asked for the boss Mr Lockwood. `Could he confirm that IOPC did make the statement there` s no evidence to back up John Wedger`s testimony? ` Secondly, `Could he confirm that a significant number of staff left their posts before the investigation was completed?` and then thirdly, `In the same BBC interview former Policing Minister Mike Penning MP said he`d handed a file on John Wedger - and I`ve added wider child abuse issues because I believe that`s in the report - to senior civil servants in the Home Office and it vanished. That being the case could Mr Lockwood confirm that he was made aware of the content of Mr Penning`s file by the Home Office at the time of IOPC`s investigation into the child abuse cover-up allegations by former MET policeman John Wedger?`" "So I wanted to know whether IOPC had that file. Let`s have a look at their response." "Here we go. They said `Dear Mr Gerrish, While you are not a member of the media I am replying to you directly rather than forward your query so that it`s dealt with quickly. I`m aware that you previously interviewed Mr Wedger on your Youtube channel. In relation to the points you raised I can confirm that we supplied the following statement to BBC 3 Counties radio." "l. The IOPC discontinued an investigation into the actions of Metropolitan police officers in relation to allegations of conspiracy and cover-up in historical child abuse allegations made by a serving Metropolitan police officer. The investigation found a lack of evidence to support the allegations." "2. Only one member of IOPC left the investigation handling Mr Wedger`s case before completion. While staff leaving investigations is never ideal, turnover is natural within a large organisation, and there was consistent oversight of the investigation by a single member of staff throughout." "3. We were aware of a file but it related to internal disciplinary issues within the MPS in relation to DC Wedger." "So we get an interesting picture here. This file which had disappeared they seem to know was just containing disciplinary stuff. How does this work Mike?" "Did they see it or did they not see it?" asks Mike Robinson. "I don`t know. So I had an interesting conversation with him. Let`s take you through a summarised version. This was with their media man David Carnell." "I pointed out that the IOPC had used a cheap opening which is to say to me `You`re not a proper journalist, so we don`t normally bother with people like you, but on this occasion we`re going to give you a reply." "I said: ...`How were you aware of a file that had been lost?`- Mike Penning had said the file was lost - so I pointed out to them they were seemingly aware of a file that had been lost. " "IOPC: `Because Det Constable John Wedger told us about it`." "So I said: `But you don`t believe a word John Wedger says because you found there`s no evidence to support his allegations `." "IOPC: `John Wedger told us about the report.`" "`But the report came from a former Policing Minister Mike Penning MP - did you see the report?`" "IOPC: `No.` " "Has the Director General Michael Lockwood seen my email?" "IOPC: `No I am giving you the answer - do you think all media enquiries are seen by senior managers?` " "Will you pass my email to Michael Lockwood?"
"The answer was: `Essentially no.` And this man became really - well in my opinion he became hostile. So we now know that when I sent in an email actually saying to the main person `we need some answers here` I get an answer from what is actually the junior media person if you look at this man`s background. And he says he is giving me the answer. So now we`ve got a system of government around policing and child abuse, one of the most critical areas of the constitution, where the answer doesn`t come from the appointed Civil Service, it comes from some media person who has now assumed responsibility for answering questions."
Mike Robinson: "Why didn`t you get a written response?"
Brian Gerrish: "Well I did get the email response, but I didn`t get a formal response from the man I asked which was the boss. I went to the boss. So I`ve now asked that my original email and questions [go] through to that gentleman and we will see whether they are passed through but now of course the thing to do is to write directly in person recorded delivery."
"... Did I get a warm feeling that this organisation was concerned that we have police officers talking about the cover-up of child abuse? We`ve got missing files that have been put together by MPs and submitted to the Home Office and what I get from this gentleman I would loosely call a fairly aggressive fob off. This is dangerous stuff because it means that these organisations are just not functioning properly."
"If you want to have a look at the individual you can see him here on LinkedIn but of course he`s saying that part of his job is handling advice to senior management and drafting lines. This word `line` for me is a newspeak term. It means opaqueness. It means blurring the boundaries . Putting out a line. You`re not saying it`s the truth; you`re not saying it`s accurate; it`s just` our line`. "
"So there we are, as a result of John Wedger standing up to say that the Metropolitan Police helped cover up the abuse of children that was also supported by MPs, local authorities and some children`s charities; despite other police officers supporting what he says, what we`ve got is confusion amongst the Home Office and policing system. I think it`s pretty obvious what is going on."
