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A panel of experts due to publish a report about exactly what happened in Alderney during the Second World War, and how many people died in the island during its Occupation, has been forced to dismiss accusations that findings of more than 1,000 deaths have been leaked to national newspapers.
On 27 July 2023 it was announced that the UK Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues Lord Eric Pickles would be leading a review into the number of prisoners who died in Alderney during the occupation.
Express explored the Pickles Inquiry and its purpose in an INSIGHT piece you can read online.
While the Inquiry has multiple terms of reference, the most anticipated figure is the number of prisoners who died in Alderney – and the findings are set to be revealed in London this week.
The topic has generated controversy and debate for years and it’s no surprise that the days leading up to the presentation would court rumour and speculation.
Most recently, Alderney representative Alex Snowdon took to Twitter to share his concerns about stories being published by the national media.
Disappointing the report outcomes appear to be leaked to the media?
— Alex Snowdon (@AlexSnowdon5) May 19, 2024
Hence why on island presentation with Q&A should have taken place as top priority in my humble opinion. https://t.co/EHnjfcikFH
However, one of the panel members, Dr Gilly Carr, quickly sought to debunk the idea of "leaked" figures.
She tweeted: "Nothing has been leaked to anyone. They’ve made it up based on their own ‘rival research’."
Later, Dr Carr added: “There’s an official launch coming. Nothing in the public domain until then. All newspaper articles are pure conjecture.
"Unless a quote comes from one of the researches, it’s guesswork.”
However, Lord Pickles himself told The Times that the death toll was “larger than a number of academic studies have suggested”.
Express spoke to Mr Snowdon about ongoing speculation and the decision to reveal the figures in London this week rather than the Channel Islands.
"I still think there should be a public presentation in Alderney," he said.
"With this sort of academic research, with this degree of detail... you would've thought a presentation to the Alderney community would be top priority.
"For example, Dig Alderney – who are working on Roman and Iron Age sites – will be doing a presentation in the Alderney Island Hall and then they might take it to Guernsey, Jersey and the UK."
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