Gibraltar Commander 'killed himself amid child porn claim'

SMH ^ | January 10, 2005

[Tailgunner Joe]

The commander of British forces on Gibraltar, found dead in his swimming pool at the weekend, appears to have committed suicide after being recalled pending an investigation into paedophilia offences, The Sun tabloid daily reported today.

Commodore David White, found dead on Saturday, was the subject of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) police investigation and had been relieved of his duties on Friday, the top-selling newspaper said.

A defence ministry spokesman denied that White had been stripped of his post.

"I can confirm that he was asked to return to the UK and he was subject to an MoD police investigation," the spokesman said.

"He wasn't being replaced, he wasn't stripped of his command," he said, without giving further information.

"Unfortunately I can't go into that sort of detail," he said.

The spokesman also refused to confirm the suicide theory saying, "It's up to the coroner to confirm the cause of his death".

Chief Inspector Eddie Yome of the Royal Gibraltar Police said on Saturday: "We don't suspect any foul play at this stage. Obviously, it was not a natural death but we must wait for results of the post mortem".

The Sun reported that detectives had been investigating White for several months "for having hundreds of indecent images of children".

An anonymous navy source told the paper: "Since everyone is innocent until proven guilty, we tried to give Commodore White the benefit of the doubt. But with more information from the police last week, his position was no longer tenable".

"It is tragic he appears to have decided to take his own life, but not surprising."

White's body was found by his military assistant in the pool at his home on Saturday.

White, 50, had commanded British forces on the rocky Mediterranean outcrop since May 2004.

Gibraltar, a mere six square kilometres of rock on Spain's southern tip facing Morocco, was ceded to the British by Spain in 1713. Two years ago the population there voted overwhelmingly against ending British rule.

AFP

[Publius6961]

I have fun with Gibraltar all the time. The usual suspects will indignantly claim that Gibraltar rightfully belongs to Spain. After I stop laughing, I ask what is "rightful" about the fact Great Britain has owned Gibraltar longer than Spain (as we know it today) did. Roughly 290 vs 221 years...

And the muslims way longer than either one of those.

[msnimje]

"White had been stripped of his post. " Is that slang for castrated?

[Askel5]

It would appear that pedophilia is the last bastion of blackmail for politicians and others in power these days.

It's just one reason the ubiquitous slogan "do it for the children" gives me the creeps. Sometimes I think they repeat this mantra for more effect that we imagine is intended where pressuring lawmakers toward disarmament and other curious federal controls -- on marriage and abortion in particular -- are concerned.

In fact, it's probably on the few things on which Jonah Goldberg and I agree ... though a continuing interest in facts surrounding Protected Pornographers and Pink Ballets probably lends my view a more macabre cast.

---

Now again, I want to fully disclose where I'm coming from. I hated the phrase "No Child Left Behind" a long, long time ago. I hated it long before George W. Bush swiped it from the Democrats. Indeed, I generally unhitch the safety on my rifle whenever I hear a politician invoke "the children" in terms not directly tethered to actual, specific, children with names and faces. For example, if you refer to "the children" as that group of kids having a ketchup fight at the next table at Arby's, fine. But if you start talking about the need to curb Greenhouse gases for "the children"; or if you claim that what really offends you about tax cuts is the message they send to "the children"; or if you say the only reason you spend day after day outside the White House dressed like the Grim Reaper shouting "judgment is nigh George Bush!" is "for the children" I'm simply going to assume you're using "the children" as a way to get what you want without having to trouble yourself with making your case.

[willyboyishere]

Note to self: New Film Idea.....MASTURBATOR AND COMMANDER

[Askel5]

"He wasn't being replaced, he wasn't stripped of his command," he said, without giving further information.

It seems hard to believe childporn would be that great of a deal in a nation where the Parliament has tried several times to lower the age of consent. Surely childporn (faked, anyway) is the specially-protected form of for-profit Free Speech in England that it is here.

[tjwmason]

It seems hard to believe childporn would be that great of a deal in a nation where the Parliament has tried several times to lower the age of consent.

I'm sorry, but what on earth do you mean here. Parliament does not try to change the age of consent, Parliament sets the law, if Parliament tried to change the age of consent then the age of consent would be changed. At present it is 16, there may well be idiots in Parliament who wish for it to be lower; but their views are no more representative of Parliament than Sen. Boxer and Rep. Conyers are of Congress.

Child-porn, and the whole related issue of paedophilia is a major hot-button issue over here.

Surely childporn (faked, anyway) is the specially-protected form of for-profit Free Speech in England that it is here.

Absolutely not. Though the internet has allowed its greater dissemination, the law can and does apply serious punishments to those creating or possessing such grotesquery (though not as serious as I would like).

[Askel5]

Thank you very much for the reply. As you probably know, childporn is "allegedly" a hot-button issue over here as well save for that fact that our Supreme Court has specifically singled out "faked" cyber childporn as a protected form of "Free Speech." (Likely as not so that their Entrapment Agents will have something to work with as they go about ensnaring pervs.) Given the fact the end-user (and his bent) is quite real, I myself don't believe a movie-style trailer that "No actual children were harmed in the creation of this sick piece" cuts it. But that's just me. The language of his World Net Daily article may explain why I said Parliament "tried" ... I was under the impression it took several tries to get it lowered to 16 and that many still were in favor of lowering the age of consent even further.

[tjwmason]

As you probably know, childporn is "allegedly" a hot-button issue over here as well save for that fact that our Supreme Court has specifically singled out "faked" cyber childporn as a protected form of "Free Speech." (Likely as not so that their Entrapment Agents will have something to work with as they go about ensnaring pervs.) Given the fact the end-user (and his bent) is quite real, I myself don't believe a movie-style trailer that "No actual children were harmed in the creation of this sick piece" cuts it. But that's just me.

That is so loony. Who would actually want to posses 'fake kiddie-porn' other than paedophiles? The whole set-up encourages the serious and grotesque abuse of real children by real perverts. Another dropped-ball for the SCOTUS I.M.O.

The language of his World Net Daily article may explain why I said Parliament "tried" ... I was under the impression it took several tries to get it lowered to 16 and that many still were in favor of lowering the age of consent even further.

The heterosexual age of consent has been 16 for ages (I would guess is was set there to coincide with the legal age for marriage); until recently the homosexual age of consent was 21, in the mid 1990s this was lowered to 18. Then more recently the change was made to 16, presented (of course) as an equality measure.

It is normal in Parliament that the parties do not set a line to be followed on issues of morality and thus M.P.s are free to make up their own minds. At the time of the mid'90s vote three options were presented to Parliament, 21, 18, or 16 with no interference from government towards any of the options. The more recent vote had a clear lead for M.P.s towards 16 (the change from a Tory majority to a Labout majority also helped).

There are some who wish to lower the age of consent. This is generally stated as part of the drive to lower teen-age pregnancy; leftist logic stating that by encouraging 14 year-olds to have sex, there will be fewer 14 year-olds getting pregnant. This measure has strong support from some sections of the homosexual community as well.