John Hemming – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Hemming on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department has received about allegations of child abuse and police corruption on St Helena since May 2010; when that information was received; and what steps his Department took in response to that information.

Mark Simmonds

Safeguarding children in St Helena is a critical priority for the St Helena Government and the UK. There have been a number of allegations in recent years about child safety and police corruption. In response there have been several investigations and reviews into St Helena – including from independent police forces and from child safety NGO. These have resulted in detailed action plans from the St Helena Government and police service to improve their ability to protect children.

Last week, we received further allegations of a conspiracy to cover up child abuse on St Helena from former employees of the St Helena Government. We take such allegations extremely seriously. In response, the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs agreed to establish an independent panel of experts to investigate these specific allegations and related matters. We hope to be able to announce further details shortly.