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5.14 The Deputy of St. Martin of the Minister for Home Affairs regarding the author of the Metropolitan Police Interim Report:
In a written answer on 23rd March 2010 to a question on who was requested to provide the Metropolitan Police Interim Report, the Minister stated that it was a detective superintendent: "The name of whom has been supplied to the questioner"; as I have not been supplied with the name, will the Minister give the name and rank and state whether that person was the sole author of the report?
Senator B.I. Le Marquand (The Minister for Home Affairs):
There is obviously some misunderstanding here because the name of the Detective Superintendent was provided in paragraph 6 of my letter dated 15th March 2010 to the Deputy of St. Martin . It is the same person as was named there. I am not going to
name that person because frankly when individual officers from outside have been named in the past they have sometimes become the subject of abuse on internet websites. [Approbation] Such actions have a severely damaging effect on the relationship between Jersey and forces in the U.K. If we are not very careful and this kind of thing continues, we may not be able to get the much needed co-operation which we need from forces in the U.K. As with any report of this nature, it is likely that contributions will have been made by many persons.
- The Deputy of St. Martin :
I am grateful, and also about the name because I think the Minister himself may not
be as aware of the information I have. One of the difficulties has been in getting
information; even Scotland Yard now are refusing to say whether there was an interim report. Could I ask the Minister to make more inquiries and ask whether in actual fact it was an interim report or was it indeed just a report requested which has now become known as an interim report but really was an emerging thought of an individual officer who was asked on 10th November ... on the very day when the letter was being addressed or being written by the Acting Chief Police Officer to suspend the suspended Chief Police Officer? So will the Minister make inquiries to see in fact whether there really was an interim report or just a letter asked for to substantiate the possible accusations made against the suspended officer?
Senator B.I. Le Marquand:
The situation is, as I have already dealt with in written answers, that a report was requested of the Metropolitan Police in relation to the overall management of the historical abuse inquiry matters and indeed in relation to specific cases. During the course of that issues arose of concern expressed by the Metropolitan Police in relation to management issues of the inquiries. What happened, as I have already indicated in response in a written answer, was this: there was one further person to be interviewed in relation to these matters but the local senior officers involved were very concerned about the potentiality for abuse of process arguments in relation to existing criminal trials, in other words that existing criminal trials might be prejudiced as a result of matters which had happened before and wanted to make a public press conference statement in order to undo damage which they perceived had been done earlier. In order to do this they needed to have some information and what happened was that the Metropolitan Police were urged to produce something, to produce as much as they could without having seen the last person. That is what they did and it was a document which was emailed to the Jersey Police Force.
- The Deputy of St. Martin :
I know it is very difficult for the Minister because he is only acting on information that he has been given, and I can fully understand the difficulty he has. But the difficulty one has ... will he accept then that the letter that was allegedly written on 10th November by the Acting Chief Officer ... a letter dated 8th November was drafted which said: "With reference to a letter dated 10th November from the Acting Chief Police Officer." Does the Minister accept that if that is the case then quite clearly the email which was sent on 10th November really was just to add a bit of strength to a decision that had already been made to suspend the officer?
Senator B.I. Le Marquand:
I am sorry, I have lost the track on what the Deputy is asking me. Perhaps he could be more precise.
The Bailiff :
If I may, the first one I did not understand either and I am not sure it follows from the question, furthermore Members will have an opportunity to question the Minister during questions without notice so I think we will probably press on.