Friday 22 March 2019

Astonishing Political Times

We all know we're living through astonishing political times when Jon Snow live on Ch4 news tells a government minister to his face that 'his government had made us the laughing stock of the world'. But I don't want to talk about that, but rather something arguably much more serious and astonishing such as child sexual abuse and the attitude to it by our political class.

In response to the recent shocking news regarding the extent of violent and sexual abuse of young prisoners at Medomsley Detention Centre and with new victims coming forward, during a live radio interview on LBC, Boris Johnson felt it appropriate to question the use of police resources in this way:-
Boris Johnson has said that spending police budgets on historical child abuse is "spaffing money up the wall".
The former Foreign Secretary was responding to a question live on LBC on which he was asked whether cuts to the police service are linked to the rise in violent crime in London.
Mr Johnson insisted that a more sensible use of police budgets was more important - and it was his choice of words which proved most controversial.
He said: "I think an awful lot of money, an awful lot of police time, now goes into these historic offences and all this malarkey and you know £60million I saw has been spaffed up the wall on some investigation into historic child abuse?
As if this wasn't bad enough, we then had the astonishing admission by David Steel giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that years ago Cyril Smith had admitted abusing boys when he was asked if the Private Eye reports at the time were true, but incredibly decided to do nothing about it. At least Steel's suspension from the Liberal Democratic Party has been swift, unlike the Conservative Party who have yet to respond to calls for action regarding Boris Johnson:-
I have today written to the government chief whip @JulianSmithUK regarding the disgraceful comments made by @BorisJohnson on @LBC today. I write for @garycliffe1 @steven_walters4 and all of the other victims of child abuse in my constituency and those up and down the country. (Tweet by Laura Smith MP)
Not surprisingly there has been much anger amongst victims and my attention was drawn to an open letter to Boris Johnson and published on the BuzzFeed website, but subsequently taken down for apparently being "too political"....

Dear Mr Johnson,

Let me tell you how the comments you made on LBC felt to the millions of child abuse survivors in the UK.  A punch in the gut. A hark back to the dark ages. To a time where victims were blamed and shamed. And offenders got away with it. Oh wait, they still do, don't they. You and your government have done nothing about this.

You said investigating child abuse cases is ejaculating (“Spaffing”) money up a wall - let's address the fact you’ve used a word that means “ejaculate” and child sex abuse survivors in the same sentence. Firstly how hugely offensive and derogatory to use this word to compare money being spent helping CSA survivors to get justice. 


Secondly, you’re a highly educated man so I very much doubt this is a mistake. You have been media trained by someone like me when I worked in Government press offices. In the current political climate and - drawing on my work in Whitehall for many years - I suspect you’re using child abuse as a way of raising your profile now that Theresa May is certainly on her way out. All publicity is not good publicity - you’ve insulted 1 in 4 of the electorate who have directly experienced CSA and their families and friends. We’ll never elect you or any party you work for now. Perhaps you’re also trying to deflect attention from the mess that the government is in at this moment -Brexit. Either way how dare you victimise me and millions of other CSA survivors for your political/media game.

You keep using the word historical, as if somehow child abuse lives in the past. Almost every case of child abuse is “historical” because on average people take 40 years to report, so severe is the pain (and the shame). But it’s never historical for a survivor - we live with the pain and the way it shaped our brain and frazzled our nervous systems for the rest of our lives. We “manage” it, it’s not historical. Neither is our offender historical, they are still out there now, they don’t just suddenly stop offending Mr Johnson.

As for your assertion that bringing child abuse perpetrators to justice is a 'malarkey' not only is this a smack in the face to victims who’ve suffered for decades, it promotes a message to leave paedophiles on the streets to reoffend. However, what is a ”malarkey” is this government’s unwillingness to tackle this country’s biggest issue - intergenerational trauma. This has been left unchecked for generations and we are now paying the price for it. If we continue to ignore it, even more offenders will be “produced”.

How about the £Trillions in cost savings the government would benefit from if it stopped trauma in its tracks by funding proper treatment for survivors? The phenomenal savings you would enjoy in the areas of criminal justice system, homelessness, addiction and healthcare services, fostering and adoption, benefits system, domestic violence services, the list goes on... the savings would be so much more than you are currently spending in all these areas. Do the maths and if you really want to save money for the government; there’s your answer.

You think it’s a waste of money to prosecute CSA cases. What a horrific thing to say! But if we are talking about wasting money. Your Mayoralty cost London taxpayers over £700 million - wasted money because of poor decisions and schemes that stroked your ego. These include:

- £50 million on Garden Bridge project that never went ahead
- £321 million on Routemaster bus
- £24 million on Cable Car
- £323k on unused water cannon
- £305 million on the Olympic Stadium Conversion

And let's not forget how much this government is wasting by treating the symptoms and not the cause of the trauma cycle? The answer = £Trillions!

The way forward... your dangerous and insulting comments have caused untold harm to people who have been through hell on earth. You need to apologise to us.

Then how about you actually look at figures relating to CSA and how this government can prevent it being carried into future generations. Saving the country £Trillions is surely a better legacy than going down in history as a victim-basher and paedophile protector.

Yours,

A Warrior

6 comments:

  1. Rape and sexual abuse support services across England and Wales have been awarded increased government funding today (22 March 2019) – totalling £24m over 3 years – to help even more victims.

    The move, which involves a 10 per cent increase in funding by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), will see 79 rape support centres awarded grants – more than ever before. This will ensure, for the first time, that there are government-funded services in all 42 of the country’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) areas.

    This will include a 50 per cent funding increase for services across Greater London – recognising the heightened demand for services in the region – with almost 15 per cent of all sexual offences occurring across the capital last year.

    Nationally over 150,000 sexual offences were recorded by police last year, with 1 in 5 women having experienced some type of sexual assault in their lifetime. This is despite the crimes often going unreported.

    The money will go towards a range of services, such as tailored face-to-face support and counselling to help victims cope with and, as far as possible, recover from these horrific crimes.

    Among the services receiving a funding boost are a national helpline and webchat service for male victims following a significant rise in the number of men and boys coming forward to report crimes and access support.

    The extra money will also see the number of PCC areas with government-funded male support centres nearly quadruple from 11 to 41.

    Funding has also been extended to include those who suffered abuse while under the age of 13, in recognition that many victims of child sexual abuse may struggle to access timely support.

    Victims Minister Edward Argar, said:

    Victims of rape and sexual violence show immense courage in coming forward – and they must have confidence that the right support will be there when it is needed.

    Today we are providing funding across more regions than ever, supporting more centres than ever, increasing the overall amount of funding and moving to a three-year funding cycle. We are determined to continue to improve access to these vital services for victims to help them rebuild their lives after these devastating crimes.

    Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, said:

    Rape is a horrific crime and has devastating and often, lifelong consequences for its victims. It is important that all victims have access to the support and therapy they need to help them recover. This increase in funding is a step in the right direction in making sure there is sufficient provision to support these victims.

    I am pleased that for the first time, there will be, centrally funded rape support services in all parts of England and Wales. I am particularly pleased to see there will be a significant increase in male support centres.

    As Victims Commissioner, I have been calling for three-year funding packages for frontline victim services. So, it is a positive development that the government will be offering rape support service providers a 3-year funding agreement. It offers providers and their staff greater security, enabling them to focus their energies on supporting victims as opposed to worrying about future funding. I hope it will not be long before this is extended to all victim services.

    Duncan Craig, CEO of Survivors Manchester and Co-Founder of Male Survivors Partnership, and survivors of childhood sexual abuse:

    In this, our 10th Birthday year, we’re delighted to receive this grant. In 10 years, we’ve supported 2,500 male survivors but the past year’s shown a huge increase in requests for help with 2 new referrals coming in every single day.

    This grant will not only allow us to provide three therapists and an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor to help meet this unprecedented demand, but also contribute significantly towards our new support centre and enable us to promote our Male Service Standard Quality Assured services to the widest possible communities across Greater Manchester, helping the diverse male population we have here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Boris Johnson 'moves in with girlfriend 24 YEARS younger than him' perhaps vicarious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Express Jan 14 2019:-

      Boris Johnson is said to be so enamoured with former Tory spin doctor lover Carrie Symonds that "he can't live without her".

      Friends say the former foreign secretary plans to wed Carrie - 24 years his junior - once his divorce to second wife Marina Wheeler is finalised. Boris, 54, was reported to have moved in recently with Carrie at her £1million rented flat in south-east London where they hosted a pre-New Year party for close friends. Their affection was clear when they were photographed returning to the property one evening recently when Carrie was spotted cheekily tweaking Boris's bottom.

      Carrie - who is just five years older than Boris's daughter Lara - is an ardent conservationist and a campaigner against plastic pollution.

      The pair have been spending increasing amounts of time with each other and Boris is understood to be buying a £2million riverside apartment near Whitehall where they plan to set up home together.

      Boris and human rights lawyer Marina announced they were divorcing last September.

      They said in a joint statement: "Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided it was in our best interests to separate.

      "We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is under way. As friends we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead."

      The couple have three other children - Milo Arthur, 23, Cassia Peaches, 21, and Theodore Apollo, 19.

      The divorce was announced hours after reports revealed Marina had booted Boris out of the family home months earlier after accusing him of cheating again.

      The flamboyant MP had been thrown out by Marina twice before - first in 2004 over his affair with writer Petronella Wyatt, then in 2010 after he fathered a child with art consultant Helen Macintyre.

      In addition, Boris was alleged to have had an affair with the journalist Anna Fazackerley while he was a shadow education minister.

      Boris and Marina, the daughter of BBC journalist Charles Wheeler, were childhood friends - they met as pupils at the European School in Brussels.

      He married first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987 after they met at Oxford University, but split when he had an affair with Marina.

      Delete
  3. Totally off topic but it should be noted. Outsourcing is corrupt.

    https://www-theregister-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2019/03/22/capita_hired_general_months_after_rpp_drs_contract_win/?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theregister.co.uk%2F2019%2F03%2F22%2Fcapita_hired_general_months_after_rpp_drs_contract_win%2F

    'Getafix

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The general overseeing British Army recruitment joined Capita shortly after the company won its "disastrous" Recruiting Partnership Programme (RPP) with the Ministry of Defence.

      The Times has reported that Lieutenant General Sir Mark Mans applied to join the notorious outsourcing firm just two months after retiring in December 2012. Capita won the RPP contract in March that year.

      As the Adjutant General of the Army, Lt Gen Mans had overall responsibility for all personnel matters throughout the fighting force.

      The government's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) waved through Mans' hiring by Capita in February 2013, stating at the time that "while Sir Mark had responsibility for the Army's strategic personnel policy as Adjutant General, he and the MoD have confirmed that he had no dealings with Capita or their competitors, or involvement in any decisions affecting them".

      Acoba has been roundly and comprehensively criticised by the press, most notably Private Eye magazine, for allowing former public sector workers to join companies with a vested interest in squeezing cash out of their former departments. The body is supposed to block such appointments.

      Lt Gen Tyrone Urch, the general currently in charge of personnel and recruiting matters, told Parliament in January that the Army will end this year 40 per cent below its recruiting targets, mainly because of problems with the RPP deal.

      "We would take equal blame" with Capita for the contract's failure to ensure a steady flow of recruits, Lt Gen Urch told the Public Accounts Committee. Earlier this month the committee savaged Capita and the Army in a stinging report that described the whole RPP contract as "abysmal" and the Army as "naive" for entering into it. The whole thing was supposed to cost the taxpayer a total of £1.3bn between 2012 and 2022, though the Army has withheld £26m in contractual payments to Capita since 2012 thanks to the outsourcer's failures.

      In 2017 El Reg revealed the scale of the failures caused when Capita's in-house Defence Recruiting System IT went live, with recruits left unable to join the Armed Forces and serving personnel wondering why the number of applications received had fallen off a cliff.

      Delete
  4. How dare he talk about wasting money on historic sexual abuse. When they throw tax payers money around like water.

    ReplyDelete