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CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY FOLLOWING GORDON ANGLESEA CONVICTION

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Thursday, 10 November, 2016
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North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to be transparent and accountable following the recent conviction of retired North Wales Police Superintendent, Gordon Anglesea, for historic child sex abuse.

In the 1990s Anglesea received a third of a million pounds in libel damages because he said he was wrongly branded a child abuser, but last month at Mold Crown Court he was found guilty of being just that.    

In the Assembly Chamber this week, Mr Isherwood called for a Welsh Government Statement on the implications for devolved services and devolved matters of the conviction.

He said:

“We know that Lady Justice Macur, the Deputy Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeal, recently re-examined that particular case as part of her work on the Waterhouse North Wales Child Abuse Tribunal of 1997-98, and she stated that that Officer had lied when first questioned under caution about an offence, and that the Tribunal knew about the case in 1997, but did not obtain the file because North Wales Police considered it ‘not relevant’. We know that the Solicitor who represented one of the victims when evidence was given against him by Flintshire's then senior Legal Officer in court, successfully defending that young man against false allegations, said he'd been threatened personally because of his inquiries defending that victim.

“We know that when Flintshire’s Internal Audit Manager blew the whistle regarding matters relating to Waterhouse, and I raised that here, your colleagues and the (Welsh) Government you then represented accused me of bringing the Assembly into disrepute. Well, matters have been raised regarding the conduct of council officers and council members at the time in public, in evidence to tribunal, in evidence in courts, and statements in newspapers, which are now brought open by this conviction.

“I hope the Welsh Government now will be somewhat more transparent and accountable, given the findings of this court case.”

Leader of the House, Jane Hutt AM, replied:  “Well, I certainly will want to ensure that we put the record straight, because I know this has been raised over the years and I will want to ensure that the Cabinet Secretary can put the record straight. I suggest he does that in a letter to the Member.”

Mr Isherwood added: “Flintshire County Council’s Internal Audit Manager at this time subsequently told me that after he had launched a routine audit investigation into why an Administrative Officer was showing on Flintshire County Council's Annual Accounts as the Council’s second highest paid officer, so that the then District Auditor could sign off these Accounts, he was wrongly wrongly denied access to persons and documents required to carry out audit investigations into a number of matters. He stated publicly, and later privately to me, that he received threats, including death threats.

 

“He then claimed constructive dismissal, bringing 38 protected disclosures under the 'Whistleblowing’ Act (Public Interest Disclosure Act). These allegations included massive salary and overtime payments to an administrative worker servicing the Waterhouse Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse".

 

He won both the Tribunal and the subsequent Council Appeal. The Tribunal Decision Document became legally binding. However, no action was taken against any of the persons criticised by the Tribunal.”

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Mark Isherwood Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd for North Wales

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