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Email from David Whelan to Michael Barnes, secretary to FACT, 09/08/2005.

From: David Whelan
To: Michael Barnes
Date: 09/08/2005

Dear Mr Barnes

Thank you for your email. I will try to address the points as you have laid them out in your email received.

  1. The fact that Mrs H Porteous letter May 2004 does not refer to any individual by name and does not identify me as a complainant appears to me to be irrelevant as Mr and Mrs Porteous achieved this aim in relation to me and my sister by the broadcasting of "Secrets or Lies" BBC Frontline Scotland, 1st April 2003.
    One has only to study the BBC producer guidelines to see how this was achieved; it's called the "jigsaw effect". You have the victims identified no matter that they had anonymity.

  2. As to memory, I personally was cross-examined and challenged in a Court of Law as to my recollection of events, as were others in this case, damning evidence was presented against John Porteous in this case. I have never had a problem with memory in relation to events concerning the convicted, but others appear to have who are connected directly to Mr John Porteous.
    The false memory argument used by the Porteous family members in an article in the Sunday Herald 11th January 2004 in relation to me is laughable given that Heather Porteous was not even of an age at the time to determine what took place.
    Perhaps her (Heather Porteous's) memory is failing her again - unless of course she has informed FACT that in the past she accused the Police of offering us (the victims) an incentive of money.
    Perhaps when all else fails individuals turn on the Police, as the Porteous family members have done in this instance and in addition in the article Sunday Herald 11th January 2004. This appears to me to be a tactic of last resort and desperation; blame everyone but do not accept your husband/father's guilt - as in this case where the convicted remains in denial.

  3. The Porteous family are using a well-trodden argument that they're "doing it for money" yet there is no basis to this claim in law. Again this is a smokescreen to mask the reality of the crimes committed by John Porteous.
    In my mind an individual abused by an adult will always recall the events no matter the length of time as to whether abuse took place 35yrs or more ago. It is the duty of the police to investigate any serious crimes no matter how many years have passed.

  4. When you have organisations more powerful than the victims, and the convicted and their families are prepared to use these organisations for their own ends, and are given an amplified voice and make false allegations against the victims, as in this particular case, claiming a miscarriage of Justice and conspiring with others to pervert the course of justice, then Justice will be equal when they have been exposed for what they have attempted to do, including the intimidation of witnesses as occurred after the trial of Mr John Porteous.
    Justice will also be achieved when we have achieved a full Judicial Public Inquiry into Quarriers Homes of the past and the failure of the former management to protect children from employees who were reported to them for allegedly abusing them, and in some cases by other employees in a number of instances at the time, only for the perpetrators to be allowed to continue working with children in Quarriers Homes.

  5. The fact that FACT claims not to know every circumstance relating to a complainant does not give it immunity or a get-out clause from the fact that I as an individual will personally challenge what has been put forward as fact in this case by individuals connected to the convicted Mr John Porteous in this particular case who have been given an amplified voice through FACT.
    Mr John Porteous was tried and convicted in a Court of Law and this was upheld in the Appeal Court of Scotland. Sentence was reduced due to a law no longer being admissible.
    In fact the Appeal Lord Gill stated: the remaining two charges were grave offences.
    He said: "They were committed by him (John Porteous) at a time when he had a serious responsibility of care in relation to children who were already disadvantaged".

  6. There are also many written books by individual victims/survivors as to childhood abuse as I am sure you are all aware of in FACT, including "Along Life's Narrow Way" by Jan McQueenie featured in the Scottish Sunday Mail May/June 1984 re Quarriers Homes. We will feature this along with other stories, letters on our website over the coming months.

  7. On the basis of the well-reasoned arguments put before the Home Affairs Select Committee alluding to the 100+ cases of falsely accused carers and teachers.
    How many have actually come before the Criminal Cases Review Commission for Appeal against sentence and how many have actually been upheld?

I make no apologies for exposing the deceit of the Porteous family and the convicted over the coming months. The damage they have done is immeasurable; I am exercising my rights now.

Again I will reiterate as I stated in my previous email I fully support the conviction of anyone who falsely accuses others.

Mr Barnes, I would like to thank you for your previous correspondence.

David Whelan

FBGA (Former Boys and Girls Abused) in Quarriers

 
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