Today, with Jeremy, we remember his family. Many of us didn’t know Nevill, June, Sheila, Nicholas and Daniel, but we see photographs of their days with Jeremy. It’s through Jeremy that the faces on the pages are brought to life. He has shared his loving memories with many of us, and all those he lost have become three dimensional individuals who we remember today as if we knew them too.
Let us take time to share with Jeremy his love and his remembrance of those who were dearest to him.
To Nevill, June, Sheila, Nicholas and Daniel, may you be always in our thoughts.
Thanks for all of your kind emails and letters of support since the outbreak of COVID-19.
We are, like all of you, following strict social distancing measures in the prison. Thanks to all of our key workers at the NHS and emergency services, especially prison officers who show compassion and professionalism at a time that is difficult for all of us.
Fortunately, my campaign team all work remotely and meet via Skype most of the time, so the campaign can continue pretty much as it was. It’s a stark warning to us how many people have already died including those of my generation. An anthem of my youth was ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ by Alan Merrill who sadly just lost his life to the virus.
So, with the extra time for work in my cell, I’m preparing an additional project with the campaign admin Yvonne Hartley. We work really well on the case material together and there is a lot more coming to light.
The team are continuing to work with documentary makers with a view to making a series of programmes on my case.
We are currently in the legal system waiting for a Judicial Review of the C.P.S. but this might be carried out by video link with the court or possibly suspended, who knows at this time of unprecedented events in our world.
I just wanted to give a quick update on everything that has happened so far this year. I was going to write this on a timeline, however it’s probably better to write this in order of importance.
For me, the article dated 12 February 2020 that was published in the Daily Star online, has to be one of the most important things that has come to light so far in 2020. It’s not the fact that the article alone has been so significant, or the evidence it contained which was uncovered about a year ago, but it is the fact that both Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police have stated that this evidence was not disputed.
DS 21 Jones stated under oath on 6 August 2002, that the scene was treated as four murders and a suicide because the team had “a note saying I’ve killed myself.”
DS Jones stated to the Metropolitan Police:
“You don't go hunting for things if you've got four murders and a suicide if you've got someone saying I've just killed myself, you don't start searching cupboards upstairs, you don't start searching cupboards in the other rooms, because you've got a note saying I've killed myself so it was treated as four murders and a suicide, completely different.”
Essex Police do not dispute this evidence!
This revelation now makes sense of DCI Kenneally’s report dated 6 September 1985 where he stated that:
“The evidence indicated that Sheila was responsible.”
No doubt part of this evidence that DCI Kenneally was referring to in his report was this suicide note.
I am simply shocked that a suicide note had been found at the scene on 7 August 1985, a note that Essex Police now concede did exist, and yet I am still in prison. This suicide note has never been disclosed and remains that way, as do photographs and fingerprint information, which must have been taken in relation to this note. I am really hoping that Essex Police are in contact with the CPS and admit that DS 21 Jones made a statement, under oath, in 2002 about the finding of Sheila’s suicide note at the scene on 7 August 1985.
And now to the ITV Drama. I am so sorry that people had to watch such nonsense, because for some odd reason no one was portrayed in a positive way from what I have been told. I did see the adverts and felt embarrassed by how badly Freddie Fox played me, and that my friends and supporters were put in a position of having to defend me. I am not now or have ever been anything like the drama portrayed me. But, it’s not me that matters, it is the fact that mum and dad were so misrepresented by the way I was portrayed.
ITV and Carol Ann Lee’s book made out that Sheila and I were jealous of each other because mum and dad had brought us up differently and treated us differently. One of the fanciful scenarios they put forward was that I was jealous of Sheila having a lovely flat in Maida Vale. This was not true as mum and dad gave me a house in Goldhanger. More to the point was that Sheila always allowed me to stay at her flat if I wanted to. I know that others looking in on our lives could feel envious, and so assumed that Sheila and I might feel the same. Sheila and I did not, because mum and dad made sure that as we were growing up, that we were grateful for our good fortune, because they knew that no one likes people who are boastful. So, the ITV drama insulted my mum and dad without even thinking about it, simply by portraying me as they did. Shocking, not factual, untruthful misrepresentation.
There are lots of positives, lots of new people have got in touch with me offering their support which is always nice, and many of the National newspapers, including The Daily Star,Daily Mirror, and The Guardian to name just three have featured really positive things about the case and given us a platform to publicly release new evidence.
I cannot thank everyone enough for how much support I have had, and the amazing thing now is that Essex Police do not dispute the fact that a suicide note was recovered from the scene, evidence that should have been disclosed pre-trial but was not!
It is of the upmost importance that the Administrative Court reach a decision in line with the disclosure ordered in 2001/2002 for all of the case documentation to be disclosed to myself and my legal team.
I have made continual attempts for almost 35 years to gain disclosure of this material which includes all of the forensic documents, witness statements and case photographs, especially those of the silencers, and I am still being refused access to it despite the previous orders made by the Court of Appeal.
All involved, including Essex Police, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the Forensic Science Service and the Crown Prosecution Service appear to believe that the partial disclosure they have made is sufficient. However, we are now in a position to show exactly what has been withheld, which amounts to thousands of key files and documents pertaining to not just the forensic examination of two silencers, but also to my innocence. This repeated non–disclosure means that much of the truth remains unknown, as the evidence that gives my case clarity still remains hidden.
Jeremy would like to extend his appreciation to everyone who has contacted him and the campaign with kind messages of support following the front-page news article on Saturday the 19th of October, regarding the call logs evidence.
"It is these many of messages of support and goodwill I have received from you all that keeps me focused and determined to correct my wrongful and unlawful conviction. A big thank you also to Matthew Young and the Daily Mirror for enabling the public at large to read the truth about just one of the ways Essex Police, and the prosecution manipulated the case against me.
The public reaction to this new alibi evidence being released makes me smile knowing how much more evidence of my innocence has been uncovered on every aspect of my case which has yet to be put into the public arena.
I’m currently working hard with my legal and campaign team to achieve a referral to the Court of Appeal as soon as possible. I feel excited at what the future holds, and I will be able to share more news with you in the next few weeks."
Today marks the 34th anniversary of the tragic, seemingly senseless, deaths of five members of a loving, close- knit family: Nevill and June Bamber, their adopted daughter, Sheila Caffell and her six-year-old twin boys, Nicholas and Daniel.
Although, in keeping with all those who support this campaign, I know the sequence of events which led to this tragedy, I did not know those who lost their lives at White House Farm, but I have complete trust in the picture of them, painted by Jeremy, the sixth victim of what took place that summer night.
Nevill and June were the personification of kindness and decency, who created a warm, caring home for those they loved. Sheila was a devoted mother, daughter and sister, with talent and charm to match her nature, and the personalities of those two, dear, six-year-old boys, reflected the love and care that surrounded their lives.
Knowing this, makes the manner in which they met their deaths all the more unfathomable, from any perspective. They will be remembered today - and every other day that dawns in the lives of those who loved and mourn them.
It is also entirely in keeping with the sentiments of this day that we remember the other victims of the tragedy.
Jeremy, of course, did not perish that awful night; instead, the state has kept him buried alive in a prison cell for over three decades; stealing not only his freedom, but the experience of living and of grieving for his family in decency and peace.
Along with people, concepts - which this state claims to be the foundations of a decent society - joined the list of victims. In the aftermath of the tragedy, truth and justice were kidnapped; a crime made more despicable by the perpetrators dressing their actions in a cloak labelled as the law of the land.
We campaigners have always believed that the walls of this dam of deceit, which has entombed Jeremy these decades, would eventually burst. The tide of truth, the whole truth, is too strong for man-made lies and corruption to withstand in perpetuity.
And I repeat, our continued fight to gain our friend's freedom is entirely in keeping with remembering and mourning Nevill, June, Sheila, Nicholas and Daniel. I believe that nobody would have fought more to set Jeremy free, than those who he loved and who loved him.
Mr Foster opened his speech by highlighting the case of Mahmoud Mattanwho was wrongly hanged on the 8th September 1952 for the murder of Lily Volpert. He stated Mr Mattan’s conviction was amongst one of the very first referrals made by the CCRC and explained the police had not disclosed vital evidence in this case. He then went on to say the Commission should be applauded for referring Mr Mattan’s case to the Court of Appeal as this resulted in the case being quashed in the late 1990’s all thanks to the CCRC’s referral.
Prior to the setting up of the CCRC, cases that might be miscarriages of justice were investigated by the Home Office C3 department. After the Court of Appeal had overturned the convictions of the Birmingham 6 and Guilford 4 it was decided that the Home Office C3 department should no longer be responsible for carrying out investigations into potential miscarriages of justice. My own case was with the Home Office C3 department at the time when the decision was taken to set up the CCRC and as a result the Home Office wrote to me stating my case would be transferred to the newly formed CCRC, and it duly was.
Media articles, news items and comment pieces were given by the CCRC, the Home Office and numerous miscarriages of justice organisations about the scale of work to be carried out by this new Commission. It was estimated that there were between 40 and 60 cases of currently convicted individuals that were possible miscarriage of justice cases that were in need of a review. So, at its founding, it seemed there were going to be plenty of resources available for each case to be properly looked at. From 1998 onwards hope was strongly felt by those individuals who were having their cases investigated by the CCRC, many, including mine, were referred to the Court of Appeal, and some had a successful appeal as a result of the referral. But somehow it all went terribly wrong for the CCRC and for the innocent in jail almost from the start. The CCRC began to promote itself, stating that if you had lost your first appeal and you still believed that your case was a miscarriage of justice, then you should make an application to them because they would look again and thoroughly investigate all that the convicted told them about their case. In over 20 years since the formation of this organisation, 23,000 applications have been investigated by the CCRC, of which 97% have been rejected, as if each has been properly investigated, they cannot possibly have been. In my own case for instance, I have repeatedly stated to the Commission that non-disclosure of evidence proving my innocence was a key feature on my submissions to them. Over a ten-year period, between 2002 and 2012, I submitted clear proof of this, yet the CCRC never investigated a single non-disclosure issue in my case other than on the non-disclosure of case photographs, an issue which was only partly resolved as many photographs are still not available to my legal team. I have written about this issue in detail previously and you can read about it here.
Mr Foster stated in his farewell speech that he has been honoured and privileged to serve as the Chair of the Commission and says that it is wonderful that the CCRC referred Mr Mattan’s case to the Court of Appeal, but that was 36 years too late for Mr Mattan, and it will be too late for other miscarriage of justice cases such as that of my friend the late Susan May,and as I grow older, soon too late for me.
Non-disclosure of evidence by the police and CPS is a highlighted issue as a cause of miscarriages of justice, and this failing was raised by the new DPP, Max Hill, when he took office in October 2018. However, even when the CCRC know that this happened in my particular case, and while Mr Foster was the Chairman of the Commission, he and they were happy to turn a blind eye to my submissions, burying their actions behind the fact that they’ve had to look at 22,999 other cases over the last 20 years, so if they made the odd mistake that would be understandable!
Had the CCRC continued investigating 30-40 cases a year as was expected when it was founded, then the CCRC would have been easily scrutinised over the way they have operated over the last 20 years. Instead, Mr Foster is honoured to have headed up an institution that has failed me, Susan May, and no doubt, hundreds of other miscarriages of justice. An institution that hides behind the numbers and lack of funding to conceal their absolute failure to carry out their remit properly that has been declared as “not fit for purpose” by miscarriage of justice victims, the legal profession and the media alike.
As you are all aware, the non-disclosure by Essex police of my complete case files and forensic material has hampered our ability to prove all of the manipulations and the facts which led to my wrongful imprisonment. However, the diligent analysis of the material I have had disclosed, has brought us to the point where I know that the justice system will have to concede that my conviction cannot be sustained. This will happen within months as we have several legal approaches that are currently active as well as the imminent submissions to the CCRC within the next few weeks. I am extremely confident and excited that the truth will out and I will soon be home.
In the meantime, following disclosure by Chelmsford Crown Court of a crime scene image that I had no idea existed at trial, I decided to re-conduct a full investigation and analysis surrounding the disclosure of the case photographs. I very soon came to realise that there are even more undisclosed case negatives than I first thought there were.
In fact it can now be shown that there are 272 case images that my defence team or I have never been allowed to see. What do these images show? It is probable that they showed all of the guns in the house including those belonging to Anthony Pargeter, the telephone I supposedly hid in magazines actually being on a shelf in the office and they will no doubt reveal further proof that Sheila was moved by the police and that her hands and feet were not spotlessly clean as they informed the jury they were.
I have also discovered that Essex Police not only deceived me and my defence team on this issue but also deceived the CCRC .
On 09.10.2002, Mr John MacLeod examined 58 rolls of photographic film. He viewed 429 negative images and reached the conclusion that a total of 249 frames of film had been cut from the 58 rolls of film disclosed to him.
On 01.10.08, Mr Peter Suthurst examined 58 rolls of photographic film. He viewed 416 negative images and he reached the conclusion that 262 frames had been cut from the 58 rolls of film that had been disclosed to him.
In 2011, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) disclosed photographic negatives to photography experts who examined 58 rolls of photographic film. They viewed 406 negative images and reached the conclusion that 272 frames had been cut from the 58 rolls of film disclosed to them.
If Essex Police had disclosed all of the case negatives in existence, why do the numbers of missing images differ? They should be the same. However the CCRC failed to investigate this issue at the time as they were satisfied with Essex Police explanation in 2011 that: i
“It was practice that this portion of clear un-exposed film which had no evidential value was cut off and disposed of at the time, whilst the remainder was sleeved in clear acetate for protection.”
However, we recently discovered a document produced by the 2001/2002 Stokenchurch investigation which stated that: ii
“From Mr Gross 31.10.2001: All the negatives in the enquiry have been well preserved and are retained in original uncut strip form.”
Mr Gross is specific, and very clear that on 31.10.2001 the case photographic negatives were retained “in original uncut strip form.”
Therefore, who gave permission for these negative strips that were whole and uncut in 2001, to then be cut up and edited before disclosure to the defence in October 2002, October 2008 and 2011? Why would these images have been removed from the strips if Essex Police had nothing to hide?
It seems clear that Essex Police must have copies of the original uncut strips of negative film and must have copied and edited the new versions prior to the three disclosures otherwise the number of disclosed images would have been identical in each instance.
This is just one of the multitudes of issues that will be referred back to the CCRC in the coming weeks.
So to conclude, whilst we are still to this day uncovering even more evidence concerning the corrupt acts of police officers and individuals involved with my case, the facts remain that my case will be referred to the Court of Appeal shortly, of that I have every confidence.
Jeremy
Watch this video by Human Rights Campaigner Peter Tatchell where he talks about the non-disclosure of case photographs of the crime scene atWhite House Farm by Essex police and its continued effect on Jeremy's case:
i CCRC Provisional statement of Reasons 2011. PDF, Para 315 to 318.
ii Stokenchurch Action number 85 dated 06.11.2001 reportedii:
We always loved this time of year at the farm mum and me, as it was a time of new beginnings. The new growth of plants in the garden, peony, crocus and snowdrop and many more wild varieties out in the hedgerows alongside our fields of crops. On our frequent walks together, either mum and I or dad and I, we would have fun picking out all of the new things that had grown, plants that had flowered and birds that were nesting like Jenny Wren’s and Hedge Sparrows. There was also the joy of seeing the baby rabbits hopping about tinged with the knowledge that they would be feasting on our crops if we didn’t keep an eye on them. So, Easter has always been about new beginnings, and I feel that this is true for me this year. Chelmsford Crown Court has just made new disclosures and the CPS are due to fulfil their disclosure obligations before the end of March, and a CCRC decision on my case will be requested very soon. New beginnings because new truths have finally come to light after years of being buried beneath layer upon layer of nonsense and misinformation. New chicks emerging from their eggs, all just waiting for the right Easter time to emerge. I would like to say a big thank you to all those new people who have pushed our team along that little bit further. The big question is, are we there yet? I think we very nearly are.
