We need truth for the sake of our children

As 2016 draws to a close, we can look back at two seismic events that have left people in the UK and US seemingly more divided than ever. This was supposed to be the year that Cameron’s government got its way by securing a yes vote on 23^rd June. It was also supposed to be the year that Hillary Clinton became the female president of the United States. Both lost out despite a heavy media campaign to sway public opinion in their favour. I’m not going to analyse the whole Brexit issue here, suffice to say that both the Leave and Remain campaigns preyed upon people’s fears and were largely devoid of fact. The economic shocks that have taken place since though predictable, have been made far worse by the government’s handling of the issue. Across the pond, Hillary Clinton’s campaign was backed bymany prominent figures from politicians to movie stars to big corporations. Many newspaper column inches have already been filled with the whys and wherefores of how she lost, but to my mind there were two factors. The first was the comments she made at a New York fundraiser in which she called half of Trump’s supporters “a basket of deplorables”. The second, and I think far more damaging factor, was the emails released by Wikileaks. The emails revealed the inner machinations of the Clinton Foundation, the DNC’s campaign funding and “pay to play activities”. The common thread running through both Brexit and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has been the establishment’s failure to push its agenda through the mainstream media. It’s a recurring theme. Here in the UK, the Blairite faction of the Labour party have failed to oust the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn despite a determined smear campaign spread by such “diverse” outlets as the BBC and the Murdoch press. People have lost faith in these traditional outlets and are looking elsewhere. Our leaders know this and their response is to warn them about the proliferation of so-called “fake news” sites. The implication being that if the news doesn’t fit the establishment’s narrative it must be “fake”. This is a worrying development that could have far-reaching implications.

Returning now to Wikileaks. In the run-up to the US presidential election, researchers uncovered evidence of paedophilia and satanic rituals within the leaked emails from Hillary’s campaign manager, John Podesta. Whilst there is no single damning piece of evidence, there are a number of elements which, taken together, paint a sinister picture. There are unusual food references that make no sense taken literally but take on meaning when supplanted by the code words used by paedophiles. Then there’s the email below which describes the entertainment at a party as three young children (ages supplied). Something is very wrong.

 There is now a movement growing online to spread awareness and pressure the incoming Trump administration to investigate this claims more thoroughly using the full powers of law enforcement at their disposal. This is a good news, but lessons need to be learnt from similar high profile allegations of historic child abuse here in the UK. The police force in England and Wales launched Operation Yewtree in 2012 following allegations of historic child abuse made against the late Jimmy Saville. Though labelled a “witch-hunt” by some in the media, it can be argued that this investigation has been successful with several high- profile entertainers having been prosecuted as a result. On the back this, the police have launched a series of other investigations. Operation Fairbank was launched following comments made by Labour MP in the House of Commons in 2012 about non-recent allegations of child abuse. Operation Fernbridge centred on claims of a VIP paedophile ring at Elm Guesthouse in Barnes, SW London. OperationHydrant was a national investigation launched in 2014 looking at over 1400 individuals suspected of paedophilia. This number included some 70 politicians and 135 TV, film or radio celebrities. Another investigation codenamed Operation Midland was launched in November 2014 following claims that a child had been killed by a VIP paedophile ring. These subsequent investigations have been mired in controversy. The police have in many cases been unable to uncover sufficient evidence to bring about successful prosecutions and they have failed to bring closure to the victims of alleged abuse. This has been particularly evident where those under investigation are members of the political class. This is what has happened with Operation Midland.

Midland was centred on the claims of one man in his 40s with the pseudonym “Nick” who had approached an independent media outlet called Exaro News. “Nick” alleged that him and other boys were driven to parties in a luxury car where they were routinely abused and raped. Among the claims were an incident at an apartment in Dolphin Square where he saw an MP strangling a boy and in other incident a boy was run over and killed in broad daylight, allegedly as a warning of what would happen to him if he ever spoke out. In March 2015 The Guardian reported: “important evidence remains lacking for the detectives of Operation Midland who are investigating the case. They, as yet, have no bodies. Neither do they have full names of those abused or killed, or exact locations where the alleged killings took place.” The police investigation was shut down the same month, leaving in its wake 14 different complaints received by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) alleging police or establishment cover-ups. Exaro News, closed under mysterious circumstances inJuly 2015. In addition, a report into the mishandling of the police investigation was released on 8^th November to coincide with the US presidential election thereby limiting the scope for further enquiry.

This sounds a lot like a cover up and it’s not the only one that has happened. Back in 1980s allegations of child abuse were raised by MP Geoffrey Dickens. He compiled a dossier of high profile people involved. This was handed to then Home Secretary, Leon Brittan in 1984. The dossier was subsequently “lost”. The list allegedly included former secret service chief Peter Hayman, MP Cyril Smith and Sir Clement Freud. Allegations have since emerged that Leon Brittan was also a paedophile. In 1997 MP Iain Mills, a resident of Dolphin Square (the location mentioned above in connection with Operation Midland), was found dead in his apartment. Initially there had been confusion over the cause of his death but Westminster’s coroner Paul Knapman soon recorded a verdict of alcohol poisoning. Iain Mills, MP, was apparently found with extreme levels of alcohol in his blood and was surrounded by gin bottles. The media at the time blamed his death on the stress of being a parliamentarian and it was assumed he’d had an alcohol problem for many years. The manner of his reported death surprised members of his local constituency who insisted that Iain had been a teetotaller and had only ever drunk orange juice in the 20 years that they knew him. Was he silenced?

In June, The Guardian reported that the Metropolitan Police would investigate claims made by a woman into the late broadcaster and former MP Sir Clement Freud. In an interview for an ITV documentary entitled “Exposure: Abused and Betrayed – A Life Sentence” he is alleged to have groomed and abused the woman from the age of 10. Following the programme many more women have come forward with new allegations. 

Freud, who died in 2009, had a holiday home in the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007. He met her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann in the weeks after the incident, staying in touch by phone and email and, according to TheTelegraph, hosting them at his home on at least two occasions. Why? An articlepublished by SGT report goes much further, claiming that according to an FBI source, Freud had rented the house out to John and Tony Podesta. On its own this is highly circumstantial. However, an article published by The Guardian in 2014 lends some weight to this theory. The article shows photofit images of 2 suspects seen following Madelaine’s disappearance. They bear a striking resemblance to the Podesta brothers.  These revelations about the Podestas have gone viral on social media and the hashtags #Pizzagate and #YoungLivesMatter have been trending despite reports of posts disappearing and users having their accounts deleted. The #Pizzagate sub-redit page was taken down and some users have reported an increased incidence of trolls. The online investigation has now moved to voat. It will not be silenced.

It is important to realise that the only reason we even know about this is because of organisations like Wikileaks and the countless other individuals who put their liberty and sometimes their lives at risk to speak out. I sincerely hope the FBI and other law enforcement agencies across the globe have the courage and the conviction to investigate these new allegations of child abuse. I hope they do not succumb to any threats or intimidation and pursue the truth, however difficult that may be. Here in the UK decades of cover-ups have stood in the way of justice. The US must not make the same mistakes. Truth must prevail for the sake of all of the children who have suffered and are still suffering.