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Author Topic: Charles Howeson  (Read 71360 times)
ChrisB
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« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2016, 21:53:05 »

Chair of an Advisory Board in no way makes him a "boss"....
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John R
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« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2016, 22:23:17 »

Wasn't he Chairman of the company itself a few years ago?
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RichardB
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« Reply #17 on: April 20, 2016, 12:35:54 »

Wasn't he Chairman of the company itself a few years ago?

Yes, he was - that changed to Chairman of the Stakeholder Board in about 2011.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #18 on: April 20, 2016, 12:42:11 »

So as usual, press out of date by half a decade....
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John R
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« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2016, 16:24:28 »

I think the wording is pretty accurate:-

He made his name at the helm of organisations including FGW (First Great Western)...

What's incorrect about that?  I think it was your recollection of his role that didn't extend far back enough.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #20 on: April 20, 2016, 17:02:56 »

No problem at all with that....they describe him as their "boss", and not in past tense
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John R
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« Reply #21 on: April 20, 2016, 17:43:54 »

I think "a former FGW (First Great Western) chief" sounds pretty past tense to me.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #22 on: April 20, 2016, 22:23:37 »

MeaCulpa, I've re-read it.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #23 on: March 03, 2017, 00:25:08 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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Business leader charged with sex crimes


Charles Howeson is alleged to have committed serious sexual offences between 1985 and 1994

A captain of industry and former Royal Navy officer has been charged with 15 serious sexual offences.

Charles Howeson, 67, of Stonehouse, Plymouth has held a number of prominent positions in the public and private sector.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the offences are alleged to have taken place against 10 boys and men between 1985 and 1994.

He is due to appear at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on 13 April.

One of the alleged victims was aged between 14 and 15 at the time, another was aged between 16 and 18, and eight were in their early twenties, police said.

Mr Howeson left the post of Chief of the Allied Staff in Gibraltar aged 39 according to the Plymouth Area Business Council, of which he is chairman.

Since then he has worked in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Roles he has held include: chairman of NHS Property Services, regional chairman of Coutts and Co bank, chairman of First Great Western Trains Advisory Board and chairman of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.


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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
ChrisB
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« Reply #24 on: March 03, 2017, 10:30:33 »

So, by my calculation, towards the end of his post in Gibraltar and the few years' afterwards
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bobm
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« Reply #25 on: March 03, 2017, 10:58:57 »

So, by my calculation, towards the end of his post in Gibraltar and the few years' afterwards

That is the period the allegations relate to.

Can I just make the usual general comment in these situations.  Now proceedings are "active" can we please refrain from commenting on them until the end of the case?
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ChrisB
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« Reply #26 on: March 03, 2017, 11:03:16 »

So, by my calculation, towards the end of his post in Gibraltar and the few years' afterwards

That is the period the allegations relate to.

Indeed, that is what is in the quote, and thus I was referring to. Just for clarity.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #27 on: November 14, 2017, 23:33:13 »

From the Bristol Post:

Quote
Ex-NHS and train company boss 'groped 11 men and boys', including some with learning difficulties

Some of the complaints against former Royal Navy officer Charles Howeson were 'swept under the carpet'

A former Royal Navy officer who held leading roles in Bristol's NHS and train operator abused his position of power to grope 11 boys and young men, a jury has been told.

Some of the complaints against Charles Howeson were made more than 30 years ago - and some were “swept under the carpet,” Bristol Crown Court was told.

Howeson, who now lives in Plymouth, was formerly chairman of First Great Western trains and also chairman of the now-defunct South West Strategic Health Authority, which used to oversee health spending in Bristol.

The jury heard that while in the Navy Howeson, now 67, indecently touched men in the lower ranks, civilians in and around his home and some men working for a charity where he was the boss.

Opening the prosecution case on Tuesday November 14, barrister Paul Dunkels, QC, said: “This was a man who was prepared to risk his success by abusing his dominant position over his victims, seemingly confident he was unassailable because of his status.”

The former lieutenant-commander allegedly touched two men inappropriately on board a Royal Navy ship in 1985.

He went on to grope a young man who lived close to him at a former home in Plymouth and a young workman there, the jury heard.

Howeson, then executive director of the Groundwork Trust, allegedly touched seven men who worked for the charity. Its premises were visited by the Queen in 1992.

Mr Dunkels said some of the alleged victims complained at the time – but because of the culture in the 1980s and 1990s there was a tendency to sweep their claims “under the carpet”. He added that others never spoke out because they felt they would not be believed.

The barrister said Howeson was moved from the ship where the alleged offences took place on health grounds, after the complaints were investigated.

Mr Dunkels said: “Howeson conveniently retired on health grounds (from the Groundwork Trust) after six young men who worked for the trust complained of similar sexual offences.

“One of the young men was told by the trustees that it was pointless taking the matter to the court and that the negative publicity would destroy the Groundwork Trust. The defendant should resign on health grounds and would not work with young people again. In other words, it was swept under the carpet.”

The barrister said the complainants working on Drake’s Island through the charity were vulnerable and two had mental health or learning difficulties.

Howeson, of Craigie Drive, Stonehouse, has gone on trial at Bristol Crown Court to answer 12 charges dating from 1985 and 1994.

He denies 11 counts of indecently assaulting nine boys and young men, and one count of attempted buggery.

One of the men he allegedly touched on board HMS Cleopatra and another in the Groundwork Trust are not subject to any charge.

Mr Dunkels said Howeson was second-in-command of HMS Cleopatra in 1985.

He added the lieutenant commander would initiate physical contact with a particular sailor, touching his hand and leaning into him.

Mr Dunkels said that Howeson touched the legs and lower back of the man as he walked up stairs on the ship. He then touched his crotch over his uniform, the barrister added.

Mr Dunkels said the man was “shaken and upset” and complained to a petty officer and the ship's Master at Arms.

The barrister said another man on board the ship also said that Howeson had touched his bottom. He also complained to a senior officer.

Mr Dunkels said Howeson denied the allegation and claimed it was a misunderstanding. He was moved on to another ship on health grounds.

The barrister said Howeson also befriended a teenager near his former Plymouth home. He lent the youth a motorcycle to ride and taught him to shoot an air rifle. Mr Dunkels said that while he was lying in a field Howeson attemped to have anal sex with him.

Mr Dunkels said a second man in his 20s did odd jobs at the defendant’s home and cleaned his car.

He added that Howeson asked him to go up a ladder to do some work and touched him indecently three times.

Mr Dunkels said that in the early 90s, Howeson was executive director of the Groundwork Trust, based in the Royal William Yard at Devonport. He added that the charity would help “vulnerable” young people or those who were finding it hard to find jobs. He added that the trust was doing environmental work on Drake’s Island, in Plymouth Sound.

Mr Dunkels said: “His method was to take them individually to an isolated place, often a tunnel on Drake’s Island, and make up some reason for him to lift the man up to check a cable or to put on some lights.”

The barrister said Howeson would stand close behind the man and touch him indecently, often over but sometimes under his clothing.

He described how seven men were touched in this way – six of them are subject of the charges.

The court heard how a Groundwork Trust official spoke to six of the men in February 1993. The matter was not reported to the police.

Mr Dunkels said the victim of the attempted buggery came forward only in in 2015, later picking an image of the defendant from a video identification parade.

The barrister said that following a report in the Bristol Post's sister paper in Plymouth, the Herald, a second man allegedly assaulted doing work at the defendant’s house, came forward.

Police were also told of the investigations in the Royal Navy and the Groundwork Trust and tracked down the notes of the official who carried out the investigation.

Howeson denied all allegations put to him in police interview.

Howeson, wearing a smart dark suit and tie, spoke only to confirm his identity at the start of proceedings today.

As well as his roles at First Great Western and the South West Strategic Health Authority, he also held a role as a senior staff member at the Queen’s bank, Coutts and Co.

The trial, before Judge Mark Horton, continues and is expected to take four to six weeks.

The case has been moved from Plymouth because of Howeson’s high profile.

He was raised in Mevagissey in Cornwall and joined the Royal Navy in 1967, before making his fortune as a property developer and launching a long career in the public, private and voluntary sector.


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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
ChrisB
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« Reply #28 on: November 15, 2017, 08:44:28 »

From the Bristol Post:

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Howeson, who now lives in Plymouth....

Quote
Howeson, of Craigie Drive, Stonehouse....

hmmm.....
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #29 on: November 15, 2017, 11:27:17 »

That's Stonehouse, an area near the centre of Plymouth, not the Stonehouse in Gloucestershire.  Lips sealed

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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