EDITORIAL: "PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) should follow Met and keep open mind on abuse claims" published by the 'News Letter' on July 4, 2018. (The News Letter is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published Monday to Saturday. It is the oldest English language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737.)
GIST: "There are two important court cases in the news. One is a proven false claim of sex assault, the other an as yet untried charges for perverting the course of justice. A wheelchair-bound woman, Gail Chambers, 51, from Lurgan, lied that she was raped. She has a history of such fabrications. The other case is in England and involves charges against a man whose identity is given only as 'Nick'. His claims about a Westminster paedophile ring were described by a police officer as "credible and true" and sparked a £2.5 million Operation Midland probe. Distinguished public figures, including Lord Brammall, the late Lord Brittan and the late Edward Heath, came under suspicion. Another target of the claims, the ex MP Harvey Proctor, said yesterday: "Justice must now be allowed to take its course." (See July 3, 2018 Telegraph story: "VIP paedophile accuser 'Nick' charged with perverting the course of justice and fraud," at the link positioned later on this page); So it must, but whatever the verdict in that case, urgent questions already arise around the previous policy of the police to believe alleged victims. Have police and media been too quick to relay claims? In the case of Ms Chambers, there need to be clear reasons why she was not jailed. Her victim was spared the horror of a trial, but even so he has suffered lasting trauma. People who fabricate assault claims such as Chambers mot only try to destroy innocent people, but they undermine the many victims of real abuse. The judge took into consideration Chambers' "mental and physical difficulties". It is the only possible justification for avoiding jail. Examples such as the Chambers case mean all sex claims have to be treated with caution (as well as tact). Cressida Dick, the respected Metropolitan police commissioner, recently said that her officers will now approach rape reports with "an open mind" rather than always believed. After that development the News Letter asked the PSNI if it was planning to "rethink" the matter, like the Met, but it gave no indication that it was. It should."
The entire editorial can be found at:
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/opinion/psni-should-follow-met-and-keep-open-mind-on-abuse-claims-1-8556191
Telegraph story: "The man known as Nick, whose allegations sparked the VIP sex abuse scandal, was last night charged with inventing the claims and then fraudulently claiming £22,000 in compensation claims. The 50-year-old - whose true identity can still not be revealed for
legal reasons - will appear in court in September, after the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) charged him with 12 counts of perverting the
course of justice and one count of fraud. Prosecutors also allege that
Nick created a fake witness called 'Fred' and sent police emails from a
false account in an attempt to corroborate his claims. Nick had told detectives he had been raped and abused in the 1970s
and 1980s by a number of powerful men, including the former Prime
Minister Sir Edward Heath; the former head of the Army, Lord Bramall;
the former Home Secretary, Lord Brittan; former Tory MP, Harvey Proctor
and the former Labour MP, Lord Janner. He even claimed that some members of the group had murdered three boys during sex games. But
despite Scotland Yard - which described the allegations as credible and
true - launching an 18-month, £2.5 million investigation with 31 full
time detectives, no evidence to support any of the claims was ever found. Last
night Mr Proctor said: "The decision of the CPS to prosecute Nick for
perverting the course of justice and fraud is to be welcomed. Justice
must now be allowed to take its course. I hope there will be no
unnecessary delays in arranging the trial. The torture that was and is
Operation Midland should end as soon as is possible." The decision to charge Nick will heap further embarrassment on the
former Met Commissioner, Lord Hogan-Howe, who was heavily criticised for
his handling of Operation Midland. The former Scotland Yard chief was forced to apologise to those who
had been placed under investigation and the Met later paid £100,000 in
compensation to Lord Bramall and Lady Brittan. A report into the investigation by retired High Court judge, Sir
Richard Henriques, identified 43 mistakes by the Metropolitan Police,
including having misled the Chief Magistrate when applying for search
warrants. Northumbria Police were then asked to investigate Nick on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and fraud. Following a ten month police probe, a file of evidence was passed to
prosecutors last September and prosecutors outlined their charges
yesterday. The charges alleged that Nick sought to back up his story by setting
up an encrypted email account and allegedly inventing a witness called
'Fred' to corroborate his claims. He is
also accused of handing the police a penknife and two military
epaulettes, claiming he had kept them from the time of the abuse. Nick allegedly took detectives on tours of properties around London where he said the appalling abuse had taken place. Among the public figures he claimed had abused him was the prolific paedophile, Jimmy Savile. In 2013
he made a successful claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Authority (CICA) for the sexual abuse he said he had suffered and was
awarded £22,000. The allegations he made to police caused untold damage to the
reputations of a string of public figures and Lord Brittan died before
his name had been cleared. Lord Bramall, whose wife was suffering from dementia at the time, had
his Hampshire home raided by 20 detectives, who spent hours going
through their intimate personal possessions. His wife subsequently died with the cloud of suspicion still hanging over her husband's head. Mr Proctor, who was also subjected to a dawn raid by police, was
forced to leave his job as private secretary to the Duke of Rutland and
was left homeless when he lost his grace and favour apartment. At the moment Nick cannot be named due to other legal proceedings that are pending. Announcing
the charging decision, Frank Ferguson, Head of Special Crime at the
CPS, said: “The CPS has considered a file of evidence from Northumbria
Police relating to allegations of perverting the course of justice and
fraud by a 50-year-old man. “The police investigation provided evidence that the man had made a
number of false allegations alleging multiple homicides and sexual abuse
said to have been carried out in the 1970s and 1980s. “Following careful consideration we have concluded there is sufficient evidence to bring a number of criminal charges. “He has today been charged with 12 counts of perverting the course of
justice and one count of fraud and will appear before Westminster
Magistrates’ Court in due course." Criminal proceedings in relation to this matter are now active and
it is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or
sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these
proceedings.”
PUBLISHER'S
NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles
Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous
employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable
effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his
protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic
pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses
on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
