Jersey official 'to reveal cover-up': report

JERSEY (AFP) — A former Jersey health minister is set to reveal a "cover-up culture" as police continue to search for bodies around a former children's home on the Channel Island, it was reported Tuesday.

The remains of a child's skeleton were found at the Haut de la Garenne home on Saturday, and sniffer dogs have since identified six other places of interest near the home in the east of the island.

Stuart Syvret, who was sacked as minister for health and social services last year, told BBC News he will publish evidence to show the authorities failed to act on child abuse claims at another site.

According to the BBC, a statement is also expected from Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker.
Walker has so far denied Syvret's allegations of "systematic" child abuse on Jersey and said Syvret was fired over the way he reportedly treated staff and colleagues.

As the excavation work at the home continues, one of the spots the police are focusing on is the cellar underneath the building, which was also previously used as an orphanage but is now a youth hostel.

Police began investigating the site after a probe was launched last November into allegations of child abuse dating back to the 1960s.

Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said he could not rule out the possibility of more bodies being found.

The remains found so far have been sent to Britain for tests but officers believe they have been there for more than five years.

The investigation into the alleged abuse focuses on the period that Haut de la Garenne was used to accommodate vulnerable children in state care or who had behavioural problems.
Since the discovery of the child's remains, the police has received fresh allegations of abuse on Jersey.

Harper said there was no evidence of a cover-up, but added the investigation would look into claims that allegations of abuse were not properly followed up.

Jersey, located 100 miles south of Britain and 14 miles from the French coast, is a popular holiday destination that has developed in the last three decades into a major offshore banking centre.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtXOubrht9UYHFRhFQs5CcIOxaPg