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FM: So you recommended Emma for the FLO role? JC: I did, yes. FM: Was that a risk? JC: I didn’t think so, no. I thought she’d do a fantastic job. Emma was one of the best new DCs to come through in years, everybody said so. FM: Was it professional of you to recommend her, given that you were having a relationship? JC: It wasn’t unprofessional. FM: Are you sure about that? JC: Yes, I’m sure. Look, I broke a personal rule getting involved with Emma. I never wanted to have a relationship with somebody at work, but when it happened, it felt… it felt totally right. So I went with it, but when this opportunity came up I thought she was absolutely the right person for that role. Genuinely. Why would I put my neck on the line otherwise? FM: OK. I understand that. It’s clear from your report that this case was a very big moment in your career. ‘Bring it on’, are the words you used, I think. JC: That’s how I felt. FM: You were excited. JC: The challenge of it, the possibility … FM: To shine? JC: I suppose so. I wasn’t going to put it quite like that. It was my first chance to be involved in a very high-profile investigation. FM: You wanted to prove yourself? JC: It was a chance. FM: And your first big task was to prepare for the press conference? JC: After the initial interviews, yes. FM: I watched the footage of the conference. JC: I think everybody did. Once seen, never forgotten. FM: Indeed. You were there too. I saw you. JC: I was chairing it. FM: Why not Fraser? JC: She believes in giving people a chance. She gave me the responsibility for running it and for drafting the statement that we wanted Rachel Jenner to read. I worked with the forensic psychologist on that. It was a big responsibility. FM: So your aim was to appeal to Ben’s abductor, to use the mother to obtain their sympathy with the hope that that might persuade them to get in contact with you?
JC: With us, or with somebody around them, somebody they trusted. It was important that they saw Ben as a real person, not just an acquisition, or a means to their own end. It would give him the context of a loving family. It was equally important not to alienate the abductor. We wanted to make them aware that it wasn’t too late for them to give him back, if he was still alive, that it was never too late to do that, even if they were scared of what the consequences might be. We wanted to present a friendly face. At that stage it obviously wasn’t clear whether it was an abduction, or a murder. FM: So you scripted something for Rachel to read out that would cover all bases? JC: Yes. That was the idea anyway. FM: How did you know you could rely on her to get the tone right? JC: I didn’t know. FM: Did you consider getting his father to do it? JC: We considered it, but there was something about him that we weren’t sure would look good on camera. He was a surgeon, he was used to being authoritative. We were concerned that he might appear arrogant. What you want is a mother, a mother’s warmth. FM: And you were confident in advance that she could deliver that? JC: We didn’t have time to delve into her psyche. She was his mother. We assumed that she would, because at that stage we had no reason not to.
- Page 86 and 87: imaginary interview goes really wel
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- Page 108 and 109: RACHEL John couldn’t stand the wa
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- Page 120 and 121: at others. He was always watching m
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- Page 128 and 129: RACHEL My sister Nicky was waiting
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- Page 134 and 135: JIM Addendum to DI James Clemo’s
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- Page 140 and 141: RACHEL In the car on the way to Ken
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- Page 144 and 145: ‘This way,’ she said. She swept
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- Page 150 and 151: missing”, and that everybody is l
- Page 152 and 153: looking woman too: nicely dressed,
- Page 154 and 155: ‘Were there signs that the arm wa
- Page 156 and 157: accident. But we’ll check it out
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JC: With us, or with somebody around them, somebody they trusted. It was important that they saw<br />
Ben as a real person, not just an acquisition, or a means to their own end. It would give him the<br />
context of a loving family. It was equally important not to alienate the abductor. We wanted to make<br />
them aware that it wasn’t too late for them to give him back, if he was still alive, that it was never too<br />
late to do that, even if they were scared of what the consequences might be. We wanted to present a<br />
friendly face. At that stage it obviously wasn’t clear whether it was an abduction, or a murder.<br />
FM: So you scripted something for Rachel to read out that would cover all bases?<br />
JC: Yes. That was the idea anyway.<br />
FM: How did you know you could rely on her to get the tone right?<br />
JC: I didn’t know.<br />
FM: Did you consider getting his father to do it?<br />
JC: We considered it, but there was something about him that we weren’t sure would look good on<br />
camera. He was a surgeon, he was used to being authoritative. We were concerned that he might<br />
appear arrogant. What you want is a mother, a mother’s warmth.<br />
FM: And you were confident in advance that she could deliver that?<br />
JC: We didn’t have time to delve into her psyche. She was his mother. We assumed that she would,<br />
because at that stage we had no reason not to.
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