Noah Donohoe: the latest news is very bad

[MNettersForNoahAndFiona]

Many Mumsnetters will have already seen and kindly supported my threads and those of others about the disappearance and death of young Noah Donohoe in Belfast in June 2020. For those who haven't, Noah's naked body was retrieved from a drain after he had been missing for 6 days. Two years later, his grieving mother Fiona, with her sister Niamh at her side, is still having to fight for the truth about her adored son's disappearance and death and for justice for him.

Yesterday, Fiona was given official notice by the government/NIO that a Public Interest Immunity Certificate has been granted. It was signed by the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire. This means that the police/PSNI are allowed to keep hundreds of pages of information from their botched investigation into the disappearance and death of this innocent and precious child secret. It was received by the police/PSNI and Crown Solicitors Office on the 19th July and his mother was not told for over a week.

Mr Vara was appointed after Brandon Lewis resigned from Boris Johnson's cabinet. He has only been in his post as NI Secretary for two weeks. This is not a good start. Signing the PII Certificate so swiftly indicates to me that he has not taken due time and care to learn all the facts in Noah's case. I think anyone who concludes from this that Mr Vara is just a government and police puppet could be forgiven.

For those Mumsnetters not in Northern Ireland who believe that PII Certificates don't concern you, a PII Certificate application from the police/PSNI protected Robert Howard, a known prolific and violent child killer and rapist. It allowed him to travel to England, Scotland and Ireland. He was only brought to justice when he raped and killed a child in Kent. This is only one example of many.

If you are not outraged, then you have not been paying attention. What can you do? Please think about this and do what you can. Please join us in raising awareness about Noah on social media, with your own government representatives and mainstream media. If you want to contact Shailesh Vara directly about Noah's case:
members.parliament.uk/member/1496/contact
Email at NIO: [email protected]
He is also on Twitter:
twitter.com/ShaileshVara

Here is a factual and reliable pinned Twitter thread for people new to Noah's story or wanting to know more:
mobile.twitter.com/MarymoBelfast/status/1370453351616425985
Here is Fiona's podcast:

Here is a Channel 4 News report: www.channel4.com/news/noah-donohoe-family-seek-answers-over-belfast-teenagers-death And please, if you haven't already, do still join the 309,146 people who have showed they care by signing Fiona's petition. Link in the OP of this thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/4573833-noah-donohoe-his-mothers-fight-for-the-truth-and-justice-please-help-stop-the-police-coroner-and-brandon-lewis-from-keeping-investigation-files-into-the-death-of-a-child-secret-thread-3?

Thank you sincerely for reading and for your support. 💙

TLDR:
As Marion Wright Edelman said, if we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much. Shame on you, Shailesh Vara. AIBU?

OP, thank you for keeping this going. I e just been reading your twitter feed and realised that got to the bit about moments before he died. So no one saw him and helped him? This is so so heartbreaking and inhuman.
RIP Noah. You deserved so much better.

What can we do?

Thank you @HikingforScenery 💙

Yes. Witnesses claim - mothers - that they saw Noah naked on their street but they did not help him. They did not even phone the police to help him. Noah was a slight boy, naked, distressed, exhausted. It was a bright, sunny Sunday on a residential cul-de-sac. People were at home and about. What is 'interesting' is that both these women, despite claiming not to have discussed it or their statements, gave the same excuse for not helping Noah: 'I thought it was a Father's Day prank'. Firstly, there is no such thing. Secondly, what early teenage boy would get naked in public? Thirdly, and most importantly, the identical excuses - had they been coached before making their statements? Similarly there are questions about the 'finding' of Noah's bike and some of his clothing in that street - also in the Twitter thread in my OP. There have been various reports and sightings including on CCTV of two adult men, a car, a van, a man seen pushing an extra bicycle. Other reports - very distressing to contemplate. Everything is either dismissed or not followed up by the police at all.

There are some ideas in the OP of what you can do to help. Fiona and Niamh are also making some plans and I'll post about that soon. 💙

Thank you @IsFuzzyBeagMise 💙

I understand your scepticism @mathanxiety and absolutely share some of it. What I would say though is that many people do care and are willing to act about events on their doorstep and around the world. The spotlight is also on NI at the moment including in the EU, because of the Conservative government's actions on trade and Brexit and concern for the GFA/lasting peace process. The Conservative government can hardly be described as in a strong position at the moment with all the Boris Johnson and new leader shenanigans.

Journalism has a chance to keep the case in the spotlight.
But ultimately, somebody knows what happened to Noah, and the fact they are not talking speaks volumes.
Yes. 💙

Agreed @BornBlonde - and thank you 💙

"What is 'interesting' is that both these women, despite claiming not to have discussed it or their statements, gave the same excuse for not helping Noah: 'I thought it was a Father's Day prank'. Firstly, there is no such thing. Secondly, what early teenage boy would get naked in public? Thirdly, and most importantly, the identical excuses - had they been coached before making their statements?"

There is still to be an inquest into this poor child's death. You need to be extremely cautious about your accusations in light of this.I know from reading about this sad death at the time that I can easily identify at least one of these women. Presumably they will be called to give evidence at the inquest and the coroner has already advised against speculation.
Your wish to get justice for Noah could have the opposite effect

Something I really want to stress here - and I think most people will have realised this already from everything they have heard about him - is that Noah was not a child to get into trouble or to go looking for danger. On that fateful Sunday, trouble and danger found him.

💙

Thank you for your concern Summersfolly but I am extremely cautious to post the facts and the questions - not accusations - already very much in the public domain, primarily from Fiona and Niamh. I am well aware of what the coroner - Joe McCrisken - the police and others have said and why.
Your wish to get justice for Noah could have the opposite effect
I very much doubt it. On the basis of the last two years, the police, the coroner and others have lost the trust of the family and of many concerned members of the public. It seems that they cannot be relied upon to deliver justice for Noah nor the truth for Fiona. This is why Fiona, Niamh and others are having to speak out.

Thank you @Feduppluckingmychinhairs 💙

Your post around accusing witnesses of rehearsed answers is extremely dangerous and I'm putting that our there to caution others.
I'm leaving this thread now as I think it's totally inappropriate. You can support a grieving mother without throwing wild accusations.

I can assure you once again that is not what I am doing, Summersfolly. Others can make up their own minds about your two posts.

Thank you for leaving the thread.

start asking questions.

Covering up for police incompetence is not in the public interest, and there needs to be oversight of police claims of compromising operational stuff. I'm thinking of the Lady Vanishes podcast over in Australia where the police similarly ballsed up an investigation, tried to release only heavily redacted documents,

Thank you @Xiaoxiong 💙

There's still been no inquest into the death and I think it needs to be prioritized as his family need answers.
The coroner changed the latest pre-hearing almost a month ago from in person - which is very important to Fiona - to video link, only days before. Perhaps they have difficulty looking this mummy, auntie and legal representatives in the eye? Then, he cancelled it completely only the night before, saying that a - non-essential - member of his legal team was ill.

Noah's family have answers, right from 'no foul play' when his body was retrieved from that dirty drain and before he was formally identified or a post mortem completed. What they need is the truth.

There's obviously much I don't understand, but the women who saw him knew, at the time, that it was something they couldn't/mustn't get involved in?

I can understand people being scared to speak up after the event, but how did they "know" not to help a naked, screaming child?

It was over a year ago and nearly didn't get made at all because the police and coroner tried to stop it. As it was, everyone involved had to be very careful about what was said at that point. Things have moved on, the PSNI are in the news for all the wrong reasons and now Mr Vara has just signed off the PII Certificate. It would be very good if Channel 4 News reported on it again. Anybody willing and able to contact Channel 4 News or even tweet is very welcome to do so.

Thank you @RhannionKPSS 💙

Anybody willing and able to contact Channel 4 News or even tweet is very welcome to do so.
That's a good idea if anyone had a contact inside.

Thank you @noodlezoodle - please do raise this with Jess Phillips MP if you are able. 💙

Statement just now from Michelle O'Neill, NI designate First Minister:
'I have raised serious concerns with British Secretary of State, Shailesh Vara, following his approval of a PII certificate to conceal information relating to Noah Donohoe.
The PII certificate must be withdrawn now.
Fiona and her family deserve full access to truth and justice.'

Statement from Gerry Kelly MLA, North Belfast:
'One of the first actions of the new British Secretary of State has been to sign a PII certificate to conceal information on the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe! He should read the files and withdraw the use of conflict gagging orders in the case of this innocent child’s death.'

Statement from John Finucane, MP North Belfast:
'The decision of the British Secretary of State to approve a PII certificate to hide information relating to Noah Donohoe’s death is deeply concerning & shameful.
We will continue to stand with Fiona Donohoe & her family in their campaign for truth & justice.'

From Noah's auntie Niamh Donohoe today:
'Noah was just an innocent child, a loved & cherished boy with so much to give & so much potential.
How anyone in a position of power can collude to cover up the truth of his death & stage evidence to support an untrue narrative scares me to the core.
This nightmare has to end'

Noah's last time at his school, with his school friends and his teachers:

Noah Donohoe was trending on Twitter.

It seems that the mainstream media think it is more important to headline report on Wagatha Christie.

PIIs are usually used to protect police methodology which is more important in Northern Ireland where Republican and Loyalist terrorists remain a real threat.

I’ve just emailed Mr Vara and my own M.P.- Can’t imagine what that poor family is going through.

I can’t believe people like Howard still get protection, I’m disgusted.