Abuse inquiry witness call

I WANTED to highlight to your readers that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is looking for former residents of the St Aidan’s children’s home in Widnes who were victims of child sexual abuse to come forward and take part in our accountability and reparations investigation.

As many of your readers will know, St Vincent’s children’s home – as well as St Aidan’s – were two of the five homes at the centre of the case which became known as the “North West child abuse cases”.

In respect of St Aidan’s the Inquiry has just one core participant directly associated with the case study.

A core participant has a formal role as defined by legislation.

Core participants have special rights in the inquiry process.

These include receiving disclosure of documentation, being represented and making legal submissions, suggesting questions and receiving advance notice of the inquiry’s report.

However, it is not necessary to be a core participant in order to provide witness evidence to the inquiry.

Individuals and organisations that wish to be designated as a core participant in relation to this investigation are asked to submit their application before June 30, 2017.

Core participant status is not the only way in which individuals and organisations can assist the Inquiry in this investigation.

Those who do not wish to play a formal role in the investigation as a core participant, but have information to provide which may assist the inquiry, should also get in touch as soon as possible.

Anyone who contacts the inquiry can be assured that their information will be handled in the strictest confidence.

To get in touch email solicitors@ iicsa.org.uk and mark the email for the attention of Simon Regis. Prof Alexis Jay OBE

via email

NO-ONE IS PERFECT

THE Conservatives are not perfect, but anyone is better than Labour.

Labour wants to take from the rich and give to the poor, who will just squander it all and then we will all end up with nothing.

And this is why many people are poor whether they are working or not, the live-for-the-day mentality and fags at £8 and more a packet.

And then there are the Lib Dems who want to legalise cannabis as they think that it is “medicinal”.

Anyone who thinks that cannabis is good for them needs their heads examining, and maybe that’s why they are using it in the first place.

Zero tolerance is the way to approach drugs, not giving in to the druggies and ending up in the gutter with them. M O’Malley Southport

THANKS FOR THANKS

WE, THE Hesketh Park Garden Volunteers, thank Geoff Fenwick for his letter (Park Looks Great, Visiter, May 18) appreciating the work done by us and others in the park.

If he or anyone else would like to join us, we meet at 2pm on Tuesdays at the polytunnel behind the conservatory.

They would be very welcome to join our friendly group (tea and biscuits to follow).

We are also having a plant sale for Volunteers Week on Sunday, June 4 from 11am to 3pm beside the conservatory. Hesketh Park Gardening Volunteers

REAL ISSUE HIDDEN?

I HAVE just read comments on the NHS cyber attack by Ric Derbyshire.

Although his assertion that “All the hospitals should have had Windows XP removed from their