Sir – I am chairing the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry which is getting under way in St Helier. The origins of the inquiry lie in the investigation at the former children’s home Haut de la Garenne which your readers may remember from the widespread news coverage at the time in 2008.

Whilst that investigation was inconclusive, it did highlight a history of abuse of children who had been in care in Jersey. It also revealed weaknesses in the way in which services which should have protected children from as far back as 1945 had operated. I, along with my colleague panel members Alyson Leslie and Prof Sandy Cameron CBE, have been appointed as independent people to look into all these matters.

We are particularly keen to hear from people who were in care in Jersey and who suffered abuse. We are also interested to hear of positive experiences of the care system.

Our primary task is to understand what went wrong and why, in order that arrangements are firmly in place to ensure that such abuse does not happen in the future.

We know that many people who were in care in Jersey left the island and live now in the UK and, therefore, may not know of the inquiry. My purpose in writing to you is to reach out through your columns to those readers living locally who may have once been in care in Jersey or who know of anyone who was so that they can have an opportunity to tell us of their experience.

We encourage them to get in touch as soon as possible. They will not necessarily need to come to the island to give evidence. The inquiry can be contacted at: PO Box 551, St Helier, Jersey JE4 8XN, by phone at +44 (0)1534 828798 or by email at info@jerseycareinquiry.org

Frances Oldham QC (Mrs), St Helier