@BBCDragonsDen not watched dragons den in a while. Decided to watch as @GNev2 was on & love his football podcasts. More importantly not afraid to use his platform to tackle social injustice and inequality in our government. Very entertaining episode tonight and great edition 🙌
This is a joy to watch. Ian Hislop, full-throttle, absolutely shredding Jake Berry on Peston. Hislop doesn’t give an inch and talks at Berry the way Tory MPs hate and just can’t cope with (“You can’t just talk nonsense and not be interrupted!”). Superb. https://t.co/z8SRv4a0ht
Monday 15th January is going to be a momentous day for me personally and professionally, and for many victims/survivors of horrific child sexual abuse in ROCHDALE so massively failed by @gmpolice@RochdaleCouncil and @RochdaleSocialServic
It has been a 13 year fight to get here. 13 whole years where it has overshadowed every day of my life in some way, as well as the lives of the survivors. 13 years where I have felt almost every emotion known to man….
Shame, disbelief, horror, trauma,fear, followed by the loss of my naivity, my eyes being opened & finally seeing ‘the bigger picture’. A determination to expose the truth and push for change has never left me and is precisely why @TMOFCharity The Maggie Oliver Foundation was born in 2019 to ensure no victim would have to fight a brutal system alone, scared.
This case has overshadowed my life. But through all those years these incredible girls, so miserably failed by those meant to protect them, have given me their trust, walked alongside me, allowing the worst years of their lives to be shared on a national stage to educate the country, hoping change would come when the country learned of all their pain and unjust criminalisation.
They are like my own kids now. Seeing how they’ve been treated & how so many other victims are trampled all over & silenced, has changed the course of my own life forever. It’s led to years of trauma and anxiety, the loss of my career when I was forced to resign, loss of my income, mental health and so much more.
Far more important are the consequences for all the children so dreadfully failed, neglected, criminalised, silenced, broken & retraumatised again & again.
Following my countless interviews, work on The Betrayed Girls and Three Girls, @MayorofGM Andy Burnham heard me repeatedly accusing @gmpolice of lying. To my absolute certainty, this case & many others , was a travesty of justice. I was very vocal in sharing this opinion with anyone who would listen or give me a platform…
My repeated protestations eventually led to this independent review in 2018.
So for almost 6 YEARS I have been sharing the truth with the review team. I have fought for the real life victims to be allowed to share their stories with that team in person. I shared everything I knew first hand and the criminal neglect I saw.
I haven’t read the full report yet, although I’ve seen parts of it. I will see the rest tomorrow, but will be reserving all my comments until it’s made public on Monday.
By nature I want to trust the Review team with whom I have shared so much about this case, & I truly hope this report doesn’t pull any punches & is a true reflection of how the incompetent handling of this case destroyed many lives, not least those of Ruby, Amber & so many others still being failed whose voices have never been heard.
I hope this report gives them some peace that finally they will see the full truth revealed, and know all their sacrifices have been worthwhile🙏
#accountability #Truth #police #criminalisation #neglect #csa #abuse
Huge respect for Shazia Saddiq, a former sub-postmistress from Newcastle, who sat with her legal team & stared down Stephen Bradshaw at today’s inquiry. The inquiry was told how he hounded her with threatening phone calls, on one occasion calling her a “bitch”
That poor woman had to flee her home with her children after being abused & assaulted in the street. Shame on anyone who believed these lies & forced her to leave her home town.
🖤🤍 #PostOfficeInquiry #HorizonScandal
Mark Carney, the Bank of England governor George Osborne chased across the world to recruit, has just endorsed Rachel Reeves to be the UK’s next chancellor. Remarkable
Finished #TheLongShadow . @itv wow what a drama. So many great actors . Script, Sets and costumes were amazing. Though such a sad story with so many missed opportunities 😢 was powerful to watch
@ThisisDavina@ITVX@ITV Absolutely brilliant 👏 well done to all couples wish you well in future 🫶 be incredibly proud of your selves and massive 👏🙌 to their children. They were a credit 🙌 think we can all identify in each of your experiences . 😓🫶
🚨NEW: Rishi Sunak has failed to declare his wife owns shares in a childcare agency that will benefit from the government's new childcare reforms - cracking scoop by @RichardVaughan1 and @paulwaugh@theipaper https://t.co/D9fpYk3Jor