torbett
- Thread starter davynico
- Start date
ibroxjohn76
Well-Known Member
I’m with you, pissing myself at that one. Seamus Potato. Hahaha
muttley
Well-Known Member
The truth will finally out, it always does in the end. They all knew, from the Piggery Boardroom downwards, including Jock Stein, and did nothing to stop it. They went even lower in trying to cover it up. The Scottish mhedia, including the BBC, should hold their heads in shame in their collaboration with criminals in their silence. Questions should be asked of the close bond between Celtc directors, the Manager, regarding the serial abusers. ? Were they also involved and those convicted only the fall guys ?
https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18674472.html
https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18674472.html
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Govan Ger
Well-Known Member
mentally challenged jury allowed to find a guilty as fck shyster not guilty, only in sectarian scotland could this happen.
Hopefully this will encourage more victims to come forward but I won't be holding my breath.
Superrangers
Well-Known Member
Bang on the money.
johnkp
Well-Known Member
I wish I could share your confidence in the Scottish legal system.
Will the judge ask anyone who could be described in any way as being 'celtic-minded' to recuse themselves from the jury?
Ponientebear
Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that, media blackout is more than likely what will happen, that’s assuming that corrupt bunch at the PF don’t deliberate feck it up and the ( unt walks.
Riccles
Well-Known Member
This morning there was a link to this article written by Mark Daly 11th April 2017.
edit: the link was on the BBC website under todays story about Rangers)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39553258
It has since been removed.
Fresh allegations of child sex abuse have been made against the founder of Celtic Boys' Club, a BBC Scotland investigation has revealed.
New alleged victims of Jim Torbett have come forward claiming he sexually abused them during the 1980s and 90s.
Torbett "vehemently denies" the allegations against him.
The investigation also reveals new claims about former Hibernian and Rangers coach Gordon Neely, who died in 2014.
An alleged victim claims he was repeatedly raped by Neely from the age of 11. It has also been claimed that when allegations of abuse surfaced, Neely was sacked from Hibs but the police were not informed.
He then joined Rangers where it is claimed he began abusing boys there. Rangers also sacked him over alleged abuse. The club claims it informed the police.
The allegations about Torbett and Neely are made in a BBC programme Football Abuse: The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game, to be screened on Monday.
They include:
It was created as a separate entity from the football club, but it has been closely linked throughout its history and acted as a feeder club, producing a string of Celtic greats including Roy Aitken, Paul McStay and Tommy Burns.
Torbett had two stints at the Boys' Club, the first from 1966-1974. He returned to the Boy's Club around 1980 and stayed until a series of Daily Record stories revealed abuse claims against him in 1996.
He was jailed for two years in 1998 on conviction of abusing three former Celtic Boys' Club players, including former Scotland international Alan Brazil, between 1967-74.
At the trial, former Celtic photographer and Boys' Club chairman Hugh Birt claimed Torbett was fired in 1974 after child abuse allegations arose.
'Became a hero'
Birt, who died four years ago, told the court Stein, then honorary president of the Boys' Club, sacked Torbett as a result of the abuse claims.
The BBC has spoken to three additional sources close to the events in the 1970s who support Birt's evidence to court that Torbett was ejected from the Boys' Club by Stein, following complaints of child abuse.
Stein was then the Celtic manager as well as honorary president of the Boys' Club.
Torbett returned to the Boys' Club in around 1980 after Stein had left Parkhead. But no allegations against Torbett in his second period at the Boys' Club have surfaced - until now.
Kenny Campbell, now 44, joined Celtic Boy's Club in 1985 as a 13-year-old. A year later, he joined the U-14s, which was managed by Torbett.
He said Torbett took a special interest in him and won the trust of his parents.
Kenny told BBC Scotland: "Pretty quickly he became a hero of mine. In my mind he was doing good things [for me].
"I'd have jumped in front of a bus for him if he had asked me, guaranteed. So it was as if he had a hold over us."
He said Torbett began the abuse while he was sitting on the couch with him one night.
Kenny said this was the beginning of up to four years of sexual abuse at the hands of Torbett, which carried on even after he was signed by the senior Celtic team.
The young player didn't tell anyone: "I just thought it was natural. I just thought that was what happened," he said.
Kenny made about 20 appearances for the reserves at Celtic but illness effectively ended his Celtic career. His life spiralled into drink and drugs, but he is now clean and sober.
He said he was angry that Torbett was allowed to return to Celtic Boys' Club despite previous abuse claims.
"I feel aggrieved at that, eh, if they had never let him back in it would … never happened in the first place, I could have had a normal life, normal people round about me. If Celtic had done their due diligence … it wouldn't have happened to me."
The BBC has spoken to a second former Celtic Boys' Club player who alleges he was abused by Torbett for three years from 1990.
Torbett's lawyer told the BBC he "vehemently denies these completely false allegations".
He added: "Clearly allegations of this kind must remain in the hands of the police and due process of the law must be followed here."
In a statement, Celtic FC said the club was "fully committed to safeguarding children".
Presented with award
The statement went on: "Celtic Boys' Club was separate and distinct organisation from Celtic Football Club. It was vital that justice was served at that time, due to the extremely serious nature of this issue."
The statement added that anyone with any concerns should contact the club.
The BBC has discovered what appears to be the "official" account of why Torbett left the Boys' Club in the archives of The Celtic View, which was the sanctioned, in-house magazine for Celtic FC.
Dated November 1974, the report is headlined: "Jim bows out…after another season of glory." It states that Torbett was leaving for his own personal and business reasons and is a glowing tribute to his time at the Boys' Club. There is no mention of abuse allegations.
The BBC understands the police were never called.
The Celtic View archives also reveal that in 1977, three years after he allegedly threw Torbett out of the Boys' Club, Jock Stein was pictured presenting Torbett with an award recognising his services to Celtic Boys' Club.
On the same evening, according to the archives, Stein made way for Celtic board member Kevin Kelly as honorary president of the Boys' Club.
Birt would tell the court in 1998 that he attempted to prevent Torbett returning to the Boys' Club and raised the issue with Celtic board members, including Kevin Kelly.
Two other sources have told the BBC that when Torbett was allowed to return to the Boys' Club in around 1980, Mr Kelly would have been aware of the previous claims of abuse against Torbett.
Mr Torbett's company The Trophy Centre had a lucrative contract with Celtic to provide branded merchandising.
Mr Kelly and Jack McGinn, a Celtic FC director from 1981, worked with Mr Torbett at his Trophy Centre business from 1986 and 1998 respectively. Their associations with the company continued long after Torbett was jailed for abuse.
Mr Kelly strongly denies being aware of allegations concerning Torbett when he returned to the Boys' Club, and told the BBC that he was not aware of any previous allegations against Torbett until his court case in the 1990s.
Jack McGinn, a Celtic FC director from 1981, also denies any previous knowledge of Mr Torbett's offending prior to his second spell at the Boys' club.
Both Mr Kelly and Mr McGinn said that if they had been aware of Mr Torbett's prior offending, they would have done all they could to prevent him returning to Celtic Boys' Club.
edit: the link was on the BBC website under todays story about Rangers)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39553258
It has since been removed.
Fresh allegations of child sex abuse have been made against the founder of Celtic Boys' Club, a BBC Scotland investigation has revealed.
New alleged victims of Jim Torbett have come forward claiming he sexually abused them during the 1980s and 90s.
Torbett "vehemently denies" the allegations against him.
The investigation also reveals new claims about former Hibernian and Rangers coach Gordon Neely, who died in 2014.
An alleged victim claims he was repeatedly raped by Neely from the age of 11. It has also been claimed that when allegations of abuse surfaced, Neely was sacked from Hibs but the police were not informed.
He then joined Rangers where it is claimed he began abusing boys there. Rangers also sacked him over alleged abuse. The club claims it informed the police.
The allegations about Torbett and Neely are made in a BBC programme Football Abuse: The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game, to be screened on Monday.
They include:
- New evidence that the reasons for Torbett leaving Celtic Boys' Club in 1974 were covered up
- Claims that Torbett was allowed to return to the Boys' Club despite being sacked for abuse
- The first evidence from former Celtic Boys' Club players claiming they were abused by Torbett in his second spell at the Boys' Club during the 1980s and 90s
- New evidence that Neely abused boys at Edinburgh youth teams and top flight clubs including Hibs and Rangers from 1980 until 1998
- Missed opportunities by football clubs and the authorities to stop Neely's abuse
It was created as a separate entity from the football club, but it has been closely linked throughout its history and acted as a feeder club, producing a string of Celtic greats including Roy Aitken, Paul McStay and Tommy Burns.
Torbett had two stints at the Boys' Club, the first from 1966-1974. He returned to the Boy's Club around 1980 and stayed until a series of Daily Record stories revealed abuse claims against him in 1996.
He was jailed for two years in 1998 on conviction of abusing three former Celtic Boys' Club players, including former Scotland international Alan Brazil, between 1967-74.
At the trial, former Celtic photographer and Boys' Club chairman Hugh Birt claimed Torbett was fired in 1974 after child abuse allegations arose.
'Became a hero'
Birt, who died four years ago, told the court Stein, then honorary president of the Boys' Club, sacked Torbett as a result of the abuse claims.
The BBC has spoken to three additional sources close to the events in the 1970s who support Birt's evidence to court that Torbett was ejected from the Boys' Club by Stein, following complaints of child abuse.
Stein was then the Celtic manager as well as honorary president of the Boys' Club.
Torbett returned to the Boys' Club in around 1980 after Stein had left Parkhead. But no allegations against Torbett in his second period at the Boys' Club have surfaced - until now.
Kenny Campbell, now 44, joined Celtic Boy's Club in 1985 as a 13-year-old. A year later, he joined the U-14s, which was managed by Torbett.
He said Torbett took a special interest in him and won the trust of his parents.
Kenny told BBC Scotland: "Pretty quickly he became a hero of mine. In my mind he was doing good things [for me].
"I'd have jumped in front of a bus for him if he had asked me, guaranteed. So it was as if he had a hold over us."
He said Torbett began the abuse while he was sitting on the couch with him one night.
Kenny said this was the beginning of up to four years of sexual abuse at the hands of Torbett, which carried on even after he was signed by the senior Celtic team.
The young player didn't tell anyone: "I just thought it was natural. I just thought that was what happened," he said.
Kenny made about 20 appearances for the reserves at Celtic but illness effectively ended his Celtic career. His life spiralled into drink and drugs, but he is now clean and sober.
He said he was angry that Torbett was allowed to return to Celtic Boys' Club despite previous abuse claims.
"I feel aggrieved at that, eh, if they had never let him back in it would … never happened in the first place, I could have had a normal life, normal people round about me. If Celtic had done their due diligence … it wouldn't have happened to me."
The BBC has spoken to a second former Celtic Boys' Club player who alleges he was abused by Torbett for three years from 1990.
Torbett's lawyer told the BBC he "vehemently denies these completely false allegations".
He added: "Clearly allegations of this kind must remain in the hands of the police and due process of the law must be followed here."
In a statement, Celtic FC said the club was "fully committed to safeguarding children".
Presented with award
The statement went on: "Celtic Boys' Club was separate and distinct organisation from Celtic Football Club. It was vital that justice was served at that time, due to the extremely serious nature of this issue."
The statement added that anyone with any concerns should contact the club.
The BBC has discovered what appears to be the "official" account of why Torbett left the Boys' Club in the archives of The Celtic View, which was the sanctioned, in-house magazine for Celtic FC.
Dated November 1974, the report is headlined: "Jim bows out…after another season of glory." It states that Torbett was leaving for his own personal and business reasons and is a glowing tribute to his time at the Boys' Club. There is no mention of abuse allegations.
The BBC understands the police were never called.
The Celtic View archives also reveal that in 1977, three years after he allegedly threw Torbett out of the Boys' Club, Jock Stein was pictured presenting Torbett with an award recognising his services to Celtic Boys' Club.
On the same evening, according to the archives, Stein made way for Celtic board member Kevin Kelly as honorary president of the Boys' Club.
Birt would tell the court in 1998 that he attempted to prevent Torbett returning to the Boys' Club and raised the issue with Celtic board members, including Kevin Kelly.
Two other sources have told the BBC that when Torbett was allowed to return to the Boys' Club in around 1980, Mr Kelly would have been aware of the previous claims of abuse against Torbett.
Mr Torbett's company The Trophy Centre had a lucrative contract with Celtic to provide branded merchandising.
Mr Kelly and Jack McGinn, a Celtic FC director from 1981, worked with Mr Torbett at his Trophy Centre business from 1986 and 1998 respectively. Their associations with the company continued long after Torbett was jailed for abuse.
Mr Kelly strongly denies being aware of allegations concerning Torbett when he returned to the Boys' Club, and told the BBC that he was not aware of any previous allegations against Torbett until his court case in the 1990s.
Jack McGinn, a Celtic FC director from 1981, also denies any previous knowledge of Mr Torbett's offending prior to his second spell at the Boys' club.
Both Mr Kelly and Mr McGinn said that if they had been aware of Mr Torbett's prior offending, they would have done all they could to prevent him returning to Celtic Boys' Club.
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Ponientebear
Well-Known Member
How many times did they use Celtc boys club, deliberately used to try and distance themselves from this beast.
The sordid fascination some of our support has in this story is beyond comprehension. I'm all for point scoring but using child abuse to do so? Nah. I cringe every time I hear someone revel in BJK or whatever other bs comment made. A horrible crime best left to the authorities to deal with ...
Ponientebear
Well-Known Member
Left to the authorities to deal with that’s a fecking laugh, how long has this shyte being cover up. The worst kept secret in the world.
Ruben Sosa
Well-Known Member
johnkp
Well-Known Member
Does a decades-long cover-up of child abuse not make you cringe?
Given their past performance, how confident are you that the authorities have the competence, or the desire, to 'deal with it'?
Riccles
Well-Known Member
Are you relaxed enough to believe the authorities will deal with this? Would you prefer these things were not spoken about.
No one is point scoring. There are wrongs that need righted.
muttley
Well-Known Member
So any organisation that covers up child abuse should never be mentioned ? Is the global outrage, and the endless Court cases regarding the RC Church's colossal scale of child rape merely " point scoring " ? You're falling into the trap of of equating the guilty with the innocent.
Carsons36th
Well-Known Member
Tend to agree but I hate these c:nts.
Do you think the negative stories that have hit the press in the last week are by chance? Torbett is up in court and a story of Rangers abuse appear, go figure.
Time to stand up to this pish mate
Ponientebear
Well-Known Member
I’m not one for calling people Tims but they have previous for being more disgusted about mentioning the abuse than they have for the actual abuse itself, definitely suspect.
DavidSmith
Well-Known Member
An evil bastard of a man.
I can still remember, way back in 1969, two of his u’15 team running away from Torbett, they were terrified of him, I didn’t know why.
They were decent lads, same age as myself but I never saw them play for Celtic BC ever again.
It wasn’t until many years later most of us found out that Torbett was a monster!
Hanging would be too good for him.
alexg123
Well-Known Member
gersmad
Well-Known Member
It was £250.000 each year for 4 years, could that have been for each year he was in prison and kept quite about who knew.
johnkp
Well-Known Member
ranks123, here's a link shown in Ian-RFC's 'The Paedophile Ring' thread ...
https://spidercatweb.blog/2018/05/02/martin-henry-james-rennie-neil-strachan-celtic/
Read through that, and let me know if you still think it's point-scoring, and that authorities will deal with it.
https://spidercatweb.blog/2018/05/02/martin-henry-james-rennie-neil-strachan-celtic/
Read through that, and let me know if you still think it's point-scoring, and that authorities will deal with it.
nemessis
Well-Known Member
Torbett should be looking out for himself, these people have a lot to lose and keep hidden they also have placemen in positions of power who won't want this to drag out , Torbett should be very careful.
Hank
I love Fish Sticks in my mouth
We can but hope.
Partickger
Well-Known Member
I look forward to the BBC’s in depth coverage of this.
nemessis
Well-Known Member
Yes I bet that wasn't common knowledge all the more reason to keep the jury free of people like that, otherwise the trial will be a farce.
govwalker
Well-Known Member
Correct. It was more my father knew this guy thru running a youth football team for years. Oh and the said guy was a dyed in the wool Tim too. He was disgusted by it.
Commentator
Well-Known Member
'Our' support? Don't think so, The only sordid fascination is your support's with our Club.
And you know this but once again it's about the cover-up, the turning a blind eye, the continued condoning of the Parkhead pederast ring.
That's your history, and you know it.
chilebear
Well-Known Member
Sweep sweep then ?
LisburnLoyalBear
Well-Known Member
Valley Bluenose
RTV? Completed it mate!
That’s from last month mate.
steadyeddy73
New Member
Another strange thing I noticed is that if you go to the news tab on google and type Jim Torbett and search of course its all old news but when you click the "view all" under the stories you get "Sorry, there is no additional coverage at this time. Please try again later". Never ever seen that before obviously someone somewhere is at it!
Virgil Hilts
Well-Known Member
Some of his stuff has been removed under The EU's "right to forget" legislation.
Will post a sample below:
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Virgil Hilts
Well-Known Member
JOCK Stein and the Celtic board covered up allegations made against Boys' Club founder Jim Torbett, it was claimed yesterday.
Torbett, who is now accused of abusing three boys while he was at the club, was literally kicked out of Parkhead by Stein, a court heard.
But when the claims subsequently surfaced, Celtic manager Stein and the directors were anxious to keep the image of the club clean and nothing more was done about them.
The claim was made by former Celtic Boys' Club chairman Hugh Birt, 61, who said he felt "fabulous" when the Daily Record broke a story about Torbett two years ago.
Mr Birt told Glasgow Sheriff Court that when he first heard about the allegations he didn't have enough evidence to go to the police.
Asked how he now felt about giving evidence against Torbett, he replied: "It's a tremendous relief for me because I have been carrying it about for 25 years."
He said he was asked to be chairman when Torbett was "put out" of the Boys' Club.
Asked who got rid of him, Mr Birt said: "According to Mr Stein, he literally put his foot up his backside and kicked him out. It was all covered up by Celtic as to why."
He admitted that he had a good relationship with Torbett, who returned to the Boys' Club as a fund-raiser several years later.
Mr Birt said: "There was a lot of hearsay and it wasn't until Jim came back that I got involved because things started up again."
He told how he took the allegations against Torbett to the Celtic board and Stein and even told the then vice-chairman, Kevin Kelly, about them at a meeting in his car.
He said: "Although there were people who spoke to me I couldn't go to the police without actual proof of the allegations. When I joined as chairman, I was told by Jock Stein to keep the name of Celtic Football Club clean at all times."
He denied a suggestion from Alan Nicol, defending, that he was a "troublemaker" and that he had been forced to leave the Boys' Club for spreading gossip about the sexuality of a referee.
Kevin Kelly, 61, a director of Torbett's Trophy Centre firm, said during his time at the club no one made any allegations and he denied ever meeting Birt to discuss claims against Torbett.
Another Trophy Centre director, Gerald McAleer, 42, who played for the Boys' Club when Torbett was there, denied in evidence that his silence had been bought.
As a youngster, he had gone on trips with other boys to the cinema and restaurants with Torbett as well as going to his flat, but said he had never seen anything amiss.
Most of the time he was in the flat, Torbett's mother was there. He said he had a good relationship with Torbett then and was still friends with him now.
He was "absolutely positive" that he had never seen Torbett interfere with one of the alleged boy victims, James McGrory.
Torbett, 51, of Burnbrae Road, Auchinloch, Lenzie, near Glasgow, denies three charges of shameless indecency involving James McGrory, now 44, David Gordon, now 38, and former Scotland star Alan Brazil.
Torbett also denies further offences against Mr McGrory at two cinemas, two restaurants and a bowling alley.
The trial continues on Monday.
Torbett, who is now accused of abusing three boys while he was at the club, was literally kicked out of Parkhead by Stein, a court heard.
But when the claims subsequently surfaced, Celtic manager Stein and the directors were anxious to keep the image of the club clean and nothing more was done about them.
The claim was made by former Celtic Boys' Club chairman Hugh Birt, 61, who said he felt "fabulous" when the Daily Record broke a story about Torbett two years ago.
Mr Birt told Glasgow Sheriff Court that when he first heard about the allegations he didn't have enough evidence to go to the police.
Asked how he now felt about giving evidence against Torbett, he replied: "It's a tremendous relief for me because I have been carrying it about for 25 years."
He said he was asked to be chairman when Torbett was "put out" of the Boys' Club.
Asked who got rid of him, Mr Birt said: "According to Mr Stein, he literally put his foot up his backside and kicked him out. It was all covered up by Celtic as to why."
He admitted that he had a good relationship with Torbett, who returned to the Boys' Club as a fund-raiser several years later.
Mr Birt said: "There was a lot of hearsay and it wasn't until Jim came back that I got involved because things started up again."
He told how he took the allegations against Torbett to the Celtic board and Stein and even told the then vice-chairman, Kevin Kelly, about them at a meeting in his car.
He said: "Although there were people who spoke to me I couldn't go to the police without actual proof of the allegations. When I joined as chairman, I was told by Jock Stein to keep the name of Celtic Football Club clean at all times."
He denied a suggestion from Alan Nicol, defending, that he was a "troublemaker" and that he had been forced to leave the Boys' Club for spreading gossip about the sexuality of a referee.
Kevin Kelly, 61, a director of Torbett's Trophy Centre firm, said during his time at the club no one made any allegations and he denied ever meeting Birt to discuss claims against Torbett.
Another Trophy Centre director, Gerald McAleer, 42, who played for the Boys' Club when Torbett was there, denied in evidence that his silence had been bought.
As a youngster, he had gone on trips with other boys to the cinema and restaurants with Torbett as well as going to his flat, but said he had never seen anything amiss.
Most of the time he was in the flat, Torbett's mother was there. He said he had a good relationship with Torbett then and was still friends with him now.
He was "absolutely positive" that he had never seen Torbett interfere with one of the alleged boy victims, James McGrory.
Torbett, 51, of Burnbrae Road, Auchinloch, Lenzie, near Glasgow, denies three charges of shameless indecency involving James McGrory, now 44, David Gordon, now 38, and former Scotland star Alan Brazil.
Torbett also denies further offences against Mr McGrory at two cinemas, two restaurants and a bowling alley.
The trial continues on Monday.
Eddie Doc
Well-Known Member
Very true. Every witness will need to take the stand and relive what the bastard done to them.I can see him change his plea before the trial starts,or maybe he wants to take bodies with him.Either way bad for the victims.No winners here but this has to come out.The press should hang their heads in shame.
THEGOVANFRONT
Well-Known Member
I'm assuming the jury will be selected on the grounds that No fan, season ticket holder or shareholder of a certain club will be allowed to serve on it?
tazzabear
Well-Known Member
Have you read anything about this elsewhere?
The only publicity this gets is from our mentioning it.
StuGers
Well-Known Member
How much do Celtic pay you out of interest?
Beanyrfc79
Well-Known Member
The same Trophy Centre that also happens to be mentioned in the indictment.
Yeah let's gloss over it and pretend it never happened!
W S M R L
Active Member
Was thinking the same found dead in his flat what’s another murder and cover up for that rancid mob, all to protect the good name of the club
Sheik Ma Shammy
Well-Known Member
The BBC has been covering up Paedophilia for years now.
I tweeted Mark Daly, the guy who just reported about the Rangers allegations asking him to point me in the right direction regarding a Torbett update on the BBC (since he is all over historic cases just now).
I suggest we all message and ask where to find it. Highlight the bias. The last mention was in April and there has been no updates since
I suggest we all message and ask where to find it. Highlight the bias. The last mention was in April and there has been no updates since
Gibbonbear
Well-Known Member
You are possibly missing the point .The fact is the child abuse did happen and no one should be point scoring from that however the people who allowed it to happen even after they had been told about it happening should be brought to justice.
These people not only allowed the abuse to happen but they actually worked alongside the perpetrator and gave him a seat in the directors box at celtic park while at the same time putting £1 million into his business the trophy centre , the money side alone needs some explaining, for around about the time they were paying £ 250 grand a year to Torbett's company they were given land on which houses had stood but which were rendered uninhabitable by the building of the Jock Stein stand ( a story here on why planning permission was granted) this land was sold to them for the grand sum of £1 by the celtic minded GCC .
So sad as the child abuse was it is merely the tip of a very large iceberg of scandal surrounding celtic football club
After the saville cover up that rancid organisation should have been shut down.
They certainly know how to keep things quiet when thet want, decades upon decades of experience...............
Sound familiar.
