22/12/2016 Channel Islands News

Caught by American intelligence - the prison worker from Jersey jailed

for distributing indecent images of children.

Good evening and welcome to the late news from BBC

The vision of Alan Whicker - and how his legacy is helping

It has been a privilege to be able to support this hospital in Alan's

named because site meant everything to him. We start a spell of

unsettled weather. Christmas will be mild and often quite windy. I will

have the details later in the programme.

An IT officer at Jersey's prison has been jailed for 18 months

for distributing indecent images of children.

28 year-old Simon Edward Gascoyne was caught after Homeland Security

Simon Gascoyne on his way to HMP La Moye after being jailed

Gascoyne, who worked at the prison, had been sharing indecent images

Jersey Police found Post-it notes with evidence of online user names

Today the court heard Gascoyne had used a mobile phone app to share

at least twelve images with seven different groups.

Some of the images were in the most severe category.

He was caught after US authorities sent Jersey Police

a disk of evidence showing his online activity.

And a later investigation showed he'd accessed pornography -

albeit legal - while at his desk at La Moye.

The court heard Gascoyne claimed he didn't know why he'd done it,

he didn't find the images of children sexually appealing,

and that he was only interested in trading images.

He described his own behaviour as disturbing, and said sharing

Solicitor General Mark Temple, acting for the prosecution,

said the former IT worker recognised he'd ruined his life.

His Advocate Pierre Landick said Gascoyne knew his behaviour had been

repugnant and abhorrent and asked for a sentence of community service.

The court heard he was fearful of prison having worked there.

But the judge William Bailhache said the community would expect a jail

term, although he recognised the defendant needed help.

Gascoyne is now back at La Moye, but on the other side of the bars.

Well the BBC asked the prison for an interview but instead

"There was no evidence of illegal activity performed on States

We have robust content filtering in place for all users of States

systems, which prohibits access to pornography and other unsuitable

Hundreds of people trying to leave and arrive in the islands by ferry

in time for Christmas have had to rearrange their journeys.

The Condor Liberation service between the Channel Islands

and England has been cancelled tomorrow because of bad weather.

The company says it's been making sure everyone can still get

to where they want to in time for Christmas.

We all have seen, just by looking at the national news

and weather forecast, this big weather

One thing for sure is that neither the masters of our ships

or the operations team, if the weather is such

that it is not safe on appropriate to sail, we will cancel the ceiling.

that it is not safe on appropriate to sail, we will cancel the sailing.

We do not wish to do that and we don't want

to do it and we know about the disruption it causes.

But, frankly, it is the best thing to do.

A reward of up to ?1,000 is being offered for information

that helps catch and convict the person responsible for a serious

A 33 year-old man walking home after a night out is believed

to have had his head stamped on in Guelles Road last Friday,

The BBC has agreed to take over the cost of providing free

TV licences for eligible islanders over the age of 75 in Jersey.

The BBC will pick up the bill from 2018, saving the public purse

more than a quarter of a million pounds by 2020.

The new licence deal between the corporation

and the island's government also included a commitment from the BBC

to continue to provide Jersey with radio and television services.

Christmas is a time for giving, and while many islanders will spend

time opening presents and feasting, there are of course some

Three years ago a Jersey woman started the online group

A Gift For Christmas, appealing for donations

It started as a simple idea, helping somebody less

Three years on and it's snowballed with the help of social media.

Once I set up the page, within one hour, there was 100 plus likes.

I started to get messages and loss of support.

I started to get messages and lots of support.

People suggested they would help us, which

Since then, it has absolutely grown to what it is

Food, toys, toiletries and treats donated by islanders

They go to three Jersey charities, including The Grace Trust,

We assist them by providing food parcels for them.

They appeared with a truck to pick up the food and I

had to send them away to get a bigger lorry.

I think they were amazed by how much we had collected.

This Christmas, the team of volunteers have already wrapped

For us, it is about being able to just have the satisfaction that they

are getting something on Christmas Day.

A lot of us take for granted being able to walk down the stairs

on Christmas Day and have a pile of presents under the Christmas tree.

And the project has become so popular, they hope to spread even

The team's been been chosen to organise the 2021

When Jersey hosted last year, thousands

Julia Bowditch, who was a venue manager at the London Olympics,

has been named as the Games Director and will work with the chairperson

and Specsavers co-founder Dame Mary Perkins.

The event logo will be revealed in the New year.

He once said he counted himself one of the luckiest men in the world,

now, his legacy is helping some of the unluckiest.

A foundation set up in memory of the journalist and broadcaster

Alan Whicker, who lived in Jersey, has been tackling child

His widow's been to Uttar Pradesh to see the difference it's making,

Alan Whicker was best known for travelling the globe reporting

But his partner of more than 40 years says it was what he saw

when the cameras stopped that made the biggest impression.

The thing about India is that it grabs by the throat

Everything is exaggerated and extreme.

The colours, noises, wealth and poverty.

Because under that clipped moustache, there was

He did not like the idea of climbing over huddled bodies to drink

champagne on a moonlit terrace with a film star.

Going to school and learning is a way out of poverty for children

here, but sometimes something incredibly simple gets in the way.

Children with bad eyesight aren't able to follow lessons at school,

and they can't afford to get glasses or the help they need.

That's where the Vision Van comes in, paid for by

the Whickers World Foundation, it's a mobile one-stop shop to help

They've been doing the first ever eye tests at schools in the region.

It is amazing to see all the schoolchildren.

Over 600 children here and at least 90 have been on the Vision Van.

Many have had treatments allowing them to get

If you can identified things early, they have a much

better chance of getting out of poverty.

The foundation's also paid for a children's ward in one

of the few eye hospitals in Uttar Predesh.

So the Channel Islander famous for seeing the world,

has been helping some of the world's poorest children see it too.

I am so glad that Alan has enabled us to do something,

even however small, to make a difference.

So, darling, if you're listening, I am not chasing all those girls.

Let's take a look at tomorrow's weather with David Braine.

Not much to cheer about in terms of the weather. It is quite mild.

with rain turning up later and some with rain turning up later and some

of it will be heavy and becoming increasingly windy. The mild air and

the wind sticking with us through Christmas. One weather front moving

into Central Europe. Clear skies for a time behind that before

low-pressure races across the Atlantic bringing a cold front to us

towards the end of the afternoon tomorrow. Ahead of it, it becomes

windy. Blustery, westerly winds and we should see temperatures in double

figures and by Christmas Day, the same setup with high pressure to the

south of us and low-pressure to the north of us. Overnight tonight,

temperatures will get into single figures. A lot of dry weather and

winds. The winds becoming more southerly by dawn tomorrow morning.

Here is the forecast for tomorrow. A lot of the day is dry, increasing

windy. We see some rain turning a ban by the end of the day, that rain

will likely be heavy and widespread and accompanying that rain, strong

winds. Winds could be gusting up to 45 miles an hour. And for Christmas

Day, it is mild and breezy. Have a good night.

You're up to date with the news from the Channel Islands.

itself, it's not white, but it's warm. Temperatures could reach 15.

I suppose you could say today was the calm before the storm. A winter

chill, plenty of sunshine, but more wintry showers in Scotland, more

snow over the higher ground. Some of this snow will melt for a time

tomorrow because there is wind and rain coming in from the Atlantic. So

we'll leave the Highlands behind, head out and look at the cloud here,

this tell-tale hook of cloud, signifies a storm is developing,

this is Storm Barbara, of course, it is a deep and deepening area of low

pressure, rushing towards the north-west of Scotland.

Steppingening the winds and bringing rain into the north-west by tomorrow

morning. Ahead of it fairly quiet. Already the showers in the north

less wintry. Fewer and clearer skies, across England and Wales for

a time, it could be chilly. One or two mist and fog patches. Out to the

west winds pick up later, cloud increases and the rain arrives and

very quickly tomorrow across Scotland and Northern Ireland