12 YEARS - Stuart, Lee, Madeleine: "The power of the first story".

Anthony Bennett
@zampos
16h
The reason this case hasn't been solved yet, for 17 years, is serious, endemic, high-level #EssexPolice #corruption. In 2012, EIGHT senior officers were found guilty by the IPCC of 26 counts of misconduct. Later the #HighCourt awarded his father £40k compensation for its errors

JonAustinReporter
@JonAustinjourn1
· 16h

#EXCLUSIVE: @EssexPoliceUK is considering a report from a top pathologist that has concluded Lee Balkwell was already 'dead when crushed in a cement mixer' and the 'scene was staged'... dad Les Balkwell wants case re-opened:
https://www.essexnewsandinvestigations.com/single-post/2020/02/02/EXCLUSIVE-Top-pathologists-report-concludes-Lee-Balkwell-was-dead-before-being-crushed-in-cement-mixer

February 2, 2020

By JON AUSTIN



POLICE are examining a report from one of the country's top forensic pathologists that has concluded that the mysterious death of a man said to have been working in a cement mixer in the dead of night nearly 18 years ago was "a murder staged to look like an accident."
Investigators treated the death of Lee Balkwell (pictured above) as an accident ever since he was found dead with his head and shoulders wedged between the drum and chassis of a cement mixer at just after 1am in July 2002, despite claims of foul play from his father.
Now senior pathologist Richard Shepherd, who has worked on high profile cases including 9/11, the 7/7 bombings, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the deaths of Princess Diana and Stephen Lawrence, has concluded the accident as described simply could not have happened.
He believes Mr Balkwell, 33, was likely to have been dead when his head was placed into a small inspection hatch while the drum was rotated to crush him.
The report was commissioned by private detective agency TM-Eye on behalf of Lee's father Les Balkwell, 72.

ALREADY DEAD? Richard Shepherd concluded the accident could not have happened as described
It has been sent to Essex Police who has been asked by Mr Balkwell's lawyers to get a fully independent police force to open a new murder inquiry.
Simon Bromley, 50, Lee's employer at the time, has consistently maintained the pair were each using kango drills and spades to break and remove dried cement from inside the drum.
He said in interview they wore gloves and dust masks and worked with an electric light. 
Mr Bromley says it was while he left Lee inside the drum, so he could slowly revolve it a bit to reach more cement, that it malfunctioned, turning more quickly than expected and Lee was either ejected from the hatch at that point, or had been inadvertently trying to climb out of it.
Police and health and safety officials, who attended the scene at Baldwins Farm industrial area in South Ockendon, Essex, investigated it as such an accident.

SCENE: The cement mixer with Lee Balkwell's leg visible
Due to botched police inquiries it took 12 years to come to court, when, in 2014 Mr Bromley was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter, but convicted of the health and safety offence of failing, as an employer, to ensure Lee's safety. 
Mr Shepherd wrote: "I note that despite the reported use of hammer drills, shovels and possibly lights inside the drum, by both Simon Bromley and Lee Balkwell, none were present inside the drum.
"No gloves were present on Lee Balkwell's hands... no masks were seen on his body, in the drum or in or around the lorry."
He concluded that, because Mr Balkwell was decapitated inside his skin, due to the major arteries involved there would have been a huge amount of blood at the scene if he was alive at the time.
He wrote: "None of the examinations of the scene showed any evidence of significant blood loss. No blood drop, spray or splash is seen in any of the photographs of the scene around, or beneath, the lorry."

CAMPAIGN: Dad Les Balkwell has never given up on getting the truth about his son's death
In my opinion the severe injuries to the neck combined with the complete lack of any blood loss on or around the lorry is entirely consistent with Lee Balkwell being dead at the time that the neck injuries were inflicted."
Only Lee's neck and shoulders were crushed, yet his back was covered in red marks and grazing and there were multiple face fractures.
Mr Shepherd said parallel marks on the back were consistent with blows from a linear object such as a police or piece of wood.
He added: "I am also struck by the extent of facial injuries with evidence of deep bruising in the left frontal region of the scalp. I also note Dr Heath describes blood flow in the airways. 
"This pattern of injuries is consistent with repeated blows to the face from fists."
Mr Shepherd believes he was beaten to death then dragged, causing more scrapes to the back, and placed in the mixer by "more than one person."
He said: "I must conclude that the death of Lee Balkwell must be considered to be very highly suspicious and that there is very strong evidence of staging of the scene in an attempt to make Le's death appear to be an accident."  
Essex Police paid Mr Balkwell's family a four figure sum in 2015 after he sued the force over early investigations.
A new High Court bid was launched in 2018 in a bid to force the police to reopen the case, but this was on hold while Mr Shepherd prepared his report.
An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "We have received a report by consultant forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd via Mr Balkwell’s solicitors. 
"We can confirm we will be examining the content of the report but due to ongoing legal proceedings calling for a judicial review we will not be commenting any further at this time."
Mr Bromley, who has stuck to his account from the outset, did not respond to request for a comment.Early investigators never pinned down Mr Bromley about the position of the equipment, but in a statement he made ahead of the inquest, he said he could not remember how the equipment ended up where it was.He has never given an interview about the death, but in 2012, after Mr Balkwell held a press conference making claims of foul play his dad, Simon Bromley, 72, said he was sick of insinuations of murder.He said at the time: "This was a terrible, tragic accident.
“Lee was like one of the family. He was a great loss. Simon felt terribly guilty. It made him ill. He would cry his eyes out about it. He said he wished it had been him and not Lee who died.”

The power of the First Story told is very difficult to break.

"He was in the drum and got killed"
"He was in the pool and drowned"
"She was in bed and was taken"


I know it is not 'done' to quote one's own work  . . . But . . .

Some time ago and over some years Harvard University conducted a series of experiments in “Changing people’s minds”.   They are summed up in a New Yorker article in which one of the more telling sentences is “ . . . Humans, they point out, aren’t randomly credulous. Presented with someone else’s argument, we’re quite adept at spotting the weaknesses. Almost invariably, the positions we’re blind about are our own.”
And later
“Providing people with accurate information doesn’t seem to help; they simply discount it. Appealing to their emotions may work better, but doing so is obviously antithetical to the goal of promoting sound science. The challenge that remains . . . is to figure out how to address the tendencies that lead to false scientific belief.”
 
So the strategy of implanting a belief in an otherwise empty mind is self-evidently a good one.  The results are clear.   All argument and evidence against the “Official Version of the Truth” are rejected.  Simply discounted - in the words of the article.


Not an encouraging situation

PeterMac wrote:The power of the First Story told is very difficult to break.

"He was in the drum and got killed"
"He was in the pool and drowned"
"She was in bed and was taken"


I know it is not 'done' to quote one's own work  . . . But . . .
   
Some time ago and over some years Harvard University conducted a series of experiments in “Changing people’s minds”.   They are summed up in a New Yorker article in which one of the more telling sentences is “ . . . Humans, they point out, aren’t randomly credulous. Presented with someone else’s argument, we’re quite adept at spotting the weaknesses. Almost invariably, the positions we’re blind about are our own.”
And later
“Providing people with accurate information doesn’t seem to help; they simply discount it. Appealing to their emotions may work better, but doing so is obviously antithetical to the goal of promoting sound science. The challenge that remains . . . is to figure out how to address the tendencies that lead to false scientific belief.”
 
So the strategy of implanting a belief in an otherwise empty mind is self-evidently a good one.  The results are clear.   All argument and evidence against the “Official Version of the Truth” are rejected.  Simply discounted - in the words of the article.


Not an encouraging situation

Thank you @PeterMac for putting it so starkly.

Another pithy way it's been put is this: "A lie goes half-way round the world before the truth has got its boots on".

This is what I've been up against, and still am, in the Stuart Lubbock and Lee Balkwell cases.

The other factor, especially in the Stuart Lubbock and Madeleine McCann cases, is that both Michael Barrymore and the McCanns have extremely powerful friends in the mainstream media

I have no doubt at all that if someone did a poll and asked about Stuart,  Lee and Madeleine, then the vast majority of those who even recognised the names would say words to the effect . . .
"Stuart . . . Isn't he the lad who drowned in the pool ?
Lee . . .   Oh, yes. I remember now.  He's the one who got killed in the concrete lorry ?
Madeleine ?  Isn't she the girl who was abducted through the window . . .?"


The Official Story in each case is still being repeated in the media
How can normal people ever come to know the truth ?

PeterMac wrote:I have no doubt at all that if someone did a poll and asked about Stuart, Lee and Madeleine, then the vast majority of those who even recognised the names would say words to the effect . . .

"Stuart . . . Isn't he the lad who drowned in the pool ?
Lee . . .   Oh, yes. I remember now.  He's the one who got killed in the concrete lorry ?
Madeleine ?  Isn't she the girl who was abducted through the window . . .?"

The Official Story in each case is still being repeated in the media.

How can normal people ever come to know the truth ?

I sometimes feel very angry about it. Sometimes I almost think that all my efforts on all three cases have been a complete waste of time.

But the truth always matters. About everything.

P.S. One of the great privileges over the past 12 years, Peter, has been to co-operate with you and learn from you in this historic search for the truth on this wonderful forum among so many willing researchers



Many many thanks   

Your efforts are not in vain. You have much support from this forum of intelligent people, although intelligence seems to be disappearing rather rapidly.

Someone once said, and it got repeated, many times, that the phrases
Military Intelligence,
and 
Police Intelligence
were oxymoronic

PeterMac - so simple yet so true what you wrote about the power of the first story. Here is one to add to your list:
William Tyrrell - oh yes i heard about him - the kid in the spiderman suit who was playing in his foster-gran's yard - and just disappeared without a sound

I wonder sometimes, when I hear that a child has drowned in a garden pond or been run over by a parent in the driveway, or fallen from an upstairs window, how often these cases are murder.

PeterMac

Azaria Chamberlain was in the 1980s . I am talking about  current one that you might find interesting. William Tyrrell not found after 4 or 5 years. Small town in NSW Aus. Story is that he was in a spiderman suit and was playing outside in the yard of his foster-grandmother's yard while granny was upstairs on balcony having tea with foster-mother. The FM's story is that all of  sudden there was a silence and "then he was gone". After weeks or months she remembered that she had seen two cars parked on the road! I think you would be very interested in the case so I won't try to capture all details here. It is before the coroner and there has been a break while they get a forensic check on the metadata on the camera used to photograph him early on the morning of his "abduction". I have made up a list covering two pages of the commonality of this case with the McCann case. Funny that.

PeterMac, 
As usual I jumped the gun and didn't take your Azaria Chamberlain comment to be one in the list of power first stories! Sorry. Let the list grow.

The power of the first story concerning Madeleine McCann has only ever really damned the Portuguese investigation and striven to forgive the ineptitude of UK police who were 'excused' for their fervour by Jim Gamble who inferred it was all a bit of a cock up, lessons to be learned, organisational difficulties... the list goes on and on.

Virtually every senior rank handed the poisened chalice that is Operation Grange has retired... apart from Nichola Wall who came to the table with an impressive arrest record and an equally impressive magazine interview concerning nail varnish.

Who can forget Hogan-Howe's miraculous arrest rate at every rank he held when he collared a person cheating a taxi driver while he (HH) was doing a documentary in front of a handy film crew. 

The most bizarre of all is the Andy revelation moment and its very expensive media stunt. The real cost of course is to a child. 

Operation Grange has engaged with the media to the point of granting privileged audience to the authors Summers and Swan.

The first story as regards Madeleine McCann's disappearance was, as I recall, a vague report about a child that had gone missing from family holiday accommodation..



So far so good! From then on reportage went completely haywire, as can be expected when talking of the unreliable press.

They descend, talk to all and sundry who know little or nothing, build a nice juicy story in preparation for a world exclusive (read with flashing neon lights) the following day. Like a plague of locusts.

Liz Eagles:
 
‘Virtually every senior rank handed the poisened chalice that is Operation Grange has retired... apart from Nichola Wall who came to the table with an impressive arrest record and an equally impressive magazine interview concerning nail varnish’.
 
She retired last year too, except without the razzmatazz we had when Redwood went, absolutely nothing in fact.
 
We had to wait for a FOI response to hear that she had gone & the new guy appointed.
 
I’ll try and find the thread, its on here somewhere.

Verdi wrote:The first story as regards Madeleine McCann's disappearance was, as I recall, a vague report about a child that had gone missing from family holiday accommodation..



So far so good!  From then on reportage went completely haywire, as can be expected when talking of the unreliable press.

They descend, talk to all and sundry who know little or nothing, build a nice juicy story in preparation for a world exclusive (read with flashing neon lights) the following day.  Like a plague of locusts.

That's the video where Dan Mason has the time of disappearance "rubbed out".

This was broadcast at 08:29 on the morning of May 4th.

Why they did that is anyone's guess - it could have been a blip I suppose - sounds pre-recorded though.

FOI request dated 23/10/19:
 
1) When was DCI Nicola Wall replaced with DCI Mark Cranwell and is she still working on Operation Grange?
 
DCI Nicola Wall retired from the MPS in November 2018 – DCI Mark Cranwell succeeded her the same month.
 
https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t14299p25-the-letters-to-the-prime-minister-and-met-police-commissioner-cressida-dick-were-posted-on-tuesday-12-june-and-i-am-awaiting-replies-which-i-shall-post-here-i-have-also-sent-a-copy-to-the-leader-of-the-opposition-jeremy-corbyn#412296
 
and from The Sun:

The Met said: “As of 30 September 2019, there are four officers working full time on Operation Grange; one Detective Sergeant, and three Detective Constables.

“The Senior Investigating Officer is Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Mark Cranwell, who does not work full time on the investigation.

“DCI Cranwell reports to Commander Stuart Cundy from the Met’s Specialist Crime command, who has chief officer responsibility for Operation Grange.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10177250/madeleine-mccann-police-knife-crime/

Can't be right.
Dan Mason, broadcasting live at 0830 Friday 4/5/7 says
"Ive just been down to the club again this morning . . ."


But the whole world knows knows, that JON CLARKE was the FIRST reporter at the scene
OR if you prefer another version of the truth – the ONLY reporter at the scene until late that evening.

So Dan Mason is clearly making it all up.
Isn't he ? ?

But he's a Mason!

PeterMac wrote:Can't be right.
Dan Mason, broadcasting live at 0830 Friday 4/5/7 says
"Ive just been down to the club again this morning . . ."


But the whole world knows knows, that JON CLARKE was the FIRST reporter at the scene
OR if you prefer another version of the truth – the ONLY reporter at the scene until late that evening.

So Dan Mason is clearly making it all up.
Isn't he ? ?

As well as having the time of the disappearance erased, he starts off the conversation with "Hi Leia".

This was pre-recorded and Julie - not Leia - Etchingham made it appear he was speaking live.

At 8.29 in the morning May 4th - why are they being evasive about the time?

Doug D wrote:FOI request dated 23/10/19:
 
1) When was DCI Nicola Wall replaced with DCI Mark Cranwell and is she still working on Operation Grange?
 
DCI Nicola Wall retired from the MPS in November 2018 – DCI Mark Cranwell succeeded her the same month.
 
https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t14299p25-the-letters-to-the-prime-minister-and-met-police-commissioner-cressida-dick-were-posted-on-tuesday-12-june-and-i-am-awaiting-replies-which-i-shall-post-here-i-have-also-sent-a-copy-to-the-leader-of-the-opposition-jeremy-corbyn#412296
 
and from The Sun:

The Met said: “As of 30 September 2019, there are four officers working full time on Operation Grange; one Detective Sergeant, and three Detective Constables.

“The Senior Investigating Officer is Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Mark Cranwell, who does not work full time on the investigation.

“DCI Cranwell reports to Commander Stuart Cundy from the Met’s Specialist Crime command, who has chief officer responsibility for Operation Grange.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10177250/madeleine-mccann-police-knife-crime/

Thank you Doug D. 

Let us also remember the now Dame Alison Saunders.

Doug D wrote:The Met said: “As of 30 September 2019, there are four officers working full time on Operation Grange; one Detective Sergeant, and three Detective Constables.

Doing what?

How can you justify working full time twiddling your thumbs?

That question still fascinates me.
ON any test they are not twiddling their thumbs.
They are doing something; a sufficient something for the HO to continue to agree
the 'funding' of their salaries.
we know there were visits to Portugal in 2019; or at least we were told there were.
They are clearly not 'searching' or 'looking for' a live Madeleine.

So what ARE they doing ?
A DS and 3 can get through a huge amount of work in a very short time.
And armed with HOLMES II and Anacapa, which the rank of the SIO would suggest is available to them
they should have ripped the "Official Story" to shreds within their first 24 hours.
As the PJ did at the scene !

So what are they doing ?

Retiring.

You are probably right, Liz Eagles. I naively hope that they're waiting for one more tiny clue to nail the obvious suspects.