Wednesday 19 February 2014

Curtis Warren ---Funny Old World or Just Fantasy?



It's a funny old world that we live in,
But the world's not entirely to blame,
It's the people you meet as you walk down the street,
And Ian Le Marquand is one you could name.

Thanks to Ian Gallagher’s report in the latest edition of the Mail on Sunday Senator Le Marquand is now having another problem he could well do without but is again digging a hole for himself. 

Mr Gallagher has reported a kiss and tell tale from Ms Teresa Rodrigues who was employed as drugs and alcohol councillor at La Moye Prison where Curtis Warren was being held in custody following his arrest on a drugs charge.

Ms Rodrigues has claimed that she had a 2 year love affair and regularly had sex with Curtis Warren in his cell. I don’t know her but she is not the first lady to claim to have sex with a well known personality. Like wise Curtis Warren is not the first male to deny a claim.

In all kiss and tell tales one is left to one’s own judgement and I am not interested in what is often a case of individuals seeking publicity and/or money to further their own ends.  I don’t know why Ms Rodrigues has made the claim but because of the position she held it should not be dismissed as fantasy by Senator Le Marquand. He is a former Magistrate and Curtis Warren may well have appeared before him, but now and very importantly he is the Minister for Home Affairs and what allegedly goes on at La Moye Prison should not be dismissed as fantasy without at least calling for a report.

At the States Sitting yesterday Deputy Montfort Tadier asked the following question;

“Would the Minister advise whether a former prison employee had an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner at HMP La Moye and, if so, what assurances can he give that correct safeguards are in place so that such alleged practice may not occur in future?”

I heard the answers and was amused at how Senator Le Marquand was defending his "do nothing approach" on the strength of a denial by Curtis Warren. What also emerged was that no references were asked for or given by Ms Rodrigues when she took up regular employment at La Moye Prison. Senator Le Marquand claimed that the reason why no references were called for was because Ms Rodrigues was well known and well respected having been employed in a part time position for some time before being appointed to a full time post. One may ask why were no references called for when she began working part time at La Moye Prison? 

As mentioned above Curtis Warren is not the first person to deny a kiss and tell claim. It could be said that he is acting as a perfect gentleman and even if the claim is true why should he accept it, what has he to gain and why should he get embroiled in what is clearly an embarrassment to the Island. Whether or not the claim is true, some will say there is no smoke without fire.

If the prison is so relaxed about references and allowing females in male cells and be photographed together why is it not possible for inmates to enjoy a few other home comforts? The former Jersey Evening Post journalist Philip Falle often called the prison "The La Moye Hilton" perhaps he had a point. 

Those who have been following my blogs will know that Senator Le Marquand has a history of dismissing embarrassing news by claiming they are fantasy. It is not for Minister’s to dismiss reports as fantasy because they may be embarrassing. It will be even more embarrassing if there is some substance to the claim.

I would recommend readers to the voiceforchildren's latest blog by clicking latest blog  Voice reports that the Chairman of the Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel has dismissed Ms Rodrigues’ claim for similar reasons to Senator Le Marquand. I hope the Chairman will give the matter a re-think and address the matter with a degree of urgency. To fail to do so demeans the Scrutiny process.

It does seem ironic that because it suits Senator Le Marquand he relies on the word of Curtis Warren to bail him out. One wonders what would have happened had the " well respected" Ms Rodrigues claimed that she had been raped by "Drugs Baron" Curtis Warren which would been believed. Would the matter have also been dismissed as fantasy? 

It's a funny old world that we live in,
But the world's not entirely to blame,
And it's the people who think they are the elite
who should be hanging their heads in shame. 

24 comments:

  1. No doubt we can anticipate some investigative journalism from the JEP! Too many people have known about this scandal for too long. I have no reason to doubt prison officers who claim to have reported this woman to the prison governor on a number of occasion. Nor do i doubt that those good, honest officers will go public if those in authority continue to dismiss the story as a "fantasy" much like the tooth fairy at HDLG

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  2. There is too much rumour about the matter and it could run for some time.

    Working in a closed environment always places pressure on those who know, La Moye is no different.

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  3. If the Daily Mail - the accredited media - has got this all wrong what shall be done about it? After all there are professional reputations at stake so the press complaints procedure should be invoked. But will our politicians just accept Le Marquand's response without further investigation and what of the journalist's own credibility. Presumably Sen Le Marquand is not too bothered about Curtis Warren's reputation but he must surely be concerned about false media reports and after all the system has promised to pursue arrant bloggers in future. So what powers are there to complain about the accredited media WITHIN Jersey? Mike Dun writes

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    1. Has the Mail got it all wrong????

      As I have said in my Blog, the matter cannot be dismissed just because the Minister thinks the claim is fantasy. It will be for States Members to press for answers and not allow themselves to be fobbed off yet again.

      Who knows the Mail on Sunday may have a part 2 next Sunday.

      I don't know why anyone would want to make complaints about the Mail on Sunday, but if anyone wants to I would have thought contacting the Press Complaints Commission would be a start,

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  4. Was she an official;"screw"?!

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  5. Ian Le Marquand accepts the word of a convicted drug dealer over the word of a "respected" member of the prison staff what planet does he live on? It must be a nice planet because Steve Pallett has moved there with him!

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    1. I was disappointed to see Steve's replies to the Voice for Children's emails. I hope he will discuss the matter with his fellow Scrutiny Panel members and as a Panel they will look into the matter.

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  6. Hi Bob.

    Put up the Audio from yesterdays Questions without Answers, You and your readers can listen HERE

    TJW.

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    1. Thank you, I am sure readers will appreciate the recording.

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  7. Former magistrate Ian Le Marquand says that Curtis Warren has denied that the affair happened, and Le Marquand believes him.

    Is this the same Curtis Warren who also denied conspiring to import a million quid's worth of cannabis into Jersey, was not believed, and went to prison for it?

    What's that noise? Oh, it's my irony klaxon!

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    1. Spot on and I am pretty sure that Curtis Warren's legal advisors will drawing the Appeal Court Judges attention to the confidence Senator Le Marquand has for him.

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  8. Phil Falle, that's a name to conjure up from the past, I bet if he was still at the JEP he would know what was going on at the prison.

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  9. Bob.

    Have interviewed Deputy Montfort Tadier concerning the "Rodrigues and Prison Problem" which will be published on VFC tomorrow. In the meantime here is an 18 second TRAILER

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  10. It certainly is a funny old world, where an decorated ex-Police Chief, who did a great job for Jersey is illegally suspended and ILM doesn't accept his truthful answers, but believes a newspaper report that states that the drug barron denies it. Perhaps it's a clever way of getting more attention! ... by later saying it is true and if so where would that leave ILM?

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  11. If the matter is found to be true and given that Senator Le Marquand has relied on the word of Curtis Warren and refused to investigate the matter, his position would be untenable.

    I wonder whether Chief Minister Gorst will have a word or two to say to Senator Le Marquand.

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  12. I am sure that readers will be appalled at the escalation of violence in Ukraine. We have been shown TV footage of snipers shooting protesters with a mounting number of dead Ukrainians shot by Ukrainians in what could escalate into civil war.

    I know little of Ukraine apart from their football team and the Klitschko brothers who have dominated the heavyweight boxing world for some years, but I know that Ukrainians are the 4th highest readers of my Blogs and I thank them all particularly during a very unhappy period in their history.

    I hope that both sides will accept that violence is not the answer and that a speedy solution can be found without further bloodshed.

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  13. I have been in a bit of trouble myself and have worried about going to jail although I have sometimes thought that it might be better than living in a damp flat in Manchester. From the photo above it looks as if things might not be too bad after all. What do I have to do to become a Category A prisoner in Jersey?

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    1. Manchester Boy should think again before getting himself locked up in La Moye. It is a dire place. I know. Warren is a rich man and knows how to use his wealth to get his way. Unless you have lots of money and connections in high places stay away from Jersey. A poor boy from Manchester would be treated like dirt.

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    2. Manchester Boy, have a quarrel with the Church of England in Jersey, get yourself in Hotel LaMoye on remand and that will be a start :) Make sure you get on the wrong side of people in positions in the church/judiciary/government, and there are a number who are all three.
      Be careful not to choose the deportation option after two weeks though :)

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    3. Enjoyed your latest blog and your "ditty," it certainly applies to Ministers like Senator Le Marquand. I reckon he knows what went on and that is why there has been a policy change.

      I wonder whether the new Police Authority will call for a report or will it be another toothless body?

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    4. Thanks for the compliment. Not sure whether the Police Authority is up and running yet, but I do hope it will be independent and will have some teeth.

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  14. The following is an extract from the Deputy Tadier and Sen Le Maquand question and answers last Tuesday.

    4.14.4 Deputy M. Tadier:

    The Minister seems to be saying he does not believe this because there are safeguards in place which are designed to stop this kind of thing happening but he has not addressed what happens when safeguards themselves fail for whatever reasons, either through human error or through conspiracy to pervert the internal processes of the prison. Will the Minister take this matter seriously and say that he will investigate, at least instigate an internal inquiry, at least make sure that he interviews the relevant stakeholders and also look at whether or not in the last 5 years there have been any other allegations of inappropriate relationships between prisoners? Will the Minister look at whether there have also been inappropriate relationships within the last 5 years?

    Senator B.I. Le Marquand:
    I am not aware of any. Because this was at very short notice, I have concentrated on the details of the particular matter but I will very happily make that inquiry.

    Bob,
    What are the chances of the results of Sen Le Marquand's enquiry being made public?

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    1. I am pleased to say that Deputy Tadier has lodged some more questions on the matter and will be asked at next Tuesday's States Sitting. (4th March)

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