Jersey Care Inquiry given 'more than 2,000 files' by States

Frances Oldham has said not providing documents "may lead to adverse inferences being drawn"

The Jersey Care Inquiry has been provided with more than 2,000 files, the States of Jersey has revealed.

It follows criticism from inquiry chairwoman Frances Oldham that "late or non-disclosure" of documents is ""hampering" the process.

A States spokesman said many of the documents contained hundreds of pages and spanned a 70-year period, with most not in electronic format.

He said "locating, copying and scanning all available records takes time".

'Adverse inferences'

The spokesman said: "As the inquiry hears new witnesses, new lines of enquiry emerge and new documents are requested.

"Departments are working closely with the inquiry team to manage this process as efficiently and promptly as possible."

He said changes to the Redaction Protocol, which deals with the censoring or obscuring of part of a text for legal or security purposes, made in March had made the process "faster and more streamlined".

Mrs Oldham warned on Thursday: "Failure to provide documents at this stage of the public inquiry may lead to adverse inferences being drawn by the inquiry in its final report."

The inquiry has been set a deadline of December 2016 for the conclusion of its investigations.

Launched in July 2014 it is investigating claims of child abuse in Jersey's care system dating back to 1945.