ENQUIRY INTO CHILD ABUSE IN JERSEY

Early day motion 2110, tabled 21 July 2008 by Austin Mitchell (Labour). Signed by 34 members.

That this House, concerned at the increasing revelations of decades of concealed and persistent physical and sexual abuse of vulnerable children in Jersey revelations, lacks confidence in the ability of the island's authorities to deal with the issues with sufficient independence and rigour because of the scale and the long history of the problem, the absence of any separation of powers in such a small intimate polity, the deeply conflicted state of judicial and political institutions, the lack of an independent prosecution service, and of independent charging power for the police, and the prevailing desire on the part of the Jersey elites to sweep scandal and abuse under the carpet to preserve their reputation; and therefore urges the Minister of Constitutional Affairs to use his power to ensure the rule of law, good administration of justice and good governance in the island by urgently appointing mainland prosecutors and judges to deal with all legal matters arising from the child abuse disaster, and appointing a mainland enquiry commission to carry out a full and independent enquiry into the shocking allegations of abuse, and the decades-long failure of the island's authorities to prevent such abuse, expose it and punish the guilty, so that the Minister can secure the protection of vulnerable children in Jersey and ensure that nothing like this happens again.

Signatures by party: Labour 22, Liberal Democrat 6, DUP 2, Conservative 1, Independent 1, Independent Labour 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.