The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
1240/5(5091)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO H.M. ATTORNEY GENERAL BY DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2010
Question
"Will H.M. Attorney General please clarify whether any of the three former members of 7 Bedford Row Chambers subsequently employed within or by the Attorney General's office, as mentioned in an answer to a written question on 19th January 2009, were involved in any way in work relating to the Historic Abuse Inquiry; and if so, would he advise what form this involvement took?"
Answer
The Attorney General does not understand why such clarification is sought or why the identity of who worked on the Historic Abuse Inquiry is relevant provided that they were competent to do so.
However, the answer to the question is that none of the three former members of 7 Bedford Row Chambers who were subsequently employed within the Law Officers' Department as stated in the answer to written question 5027 tabled on the 19th January 2009 worked on the Historic Abuse Inquiry during the time that they worked in the Law Officers' Department.
It is a matter of public record that one of those lawyers, Crown Advocate Stephen Baker, since entering private practice in Jersey, has been briefed in the Historic Abuse Inquiry: i) to advise on cases in which allegations of historic abuse have been made; and ii) to prosecute those cases which have been capable of prosecution in accordance with the usual tests applied by the Attorney General in Jersey (which correspond with the tests applied by the Director of Public Prosecutions in England.) Crown Advocate Baker has given extensive and professional advice on each of the case files he has reviewed where no prosecution has been commenced, and all such cases that he has prosecuted have resulted in convictions.
The other two members of the Law Officers' Department, who were formerly of 7 Bedford Row chambers, one now in private practice and one still with the Law Officers Department, have not worked on the historic abuse cases and do not currently do so.