Lions, Liars, Donkeys and Penguins

Alison was a vulnerable mentally ill young woman groomed and taken advantage of by an older male nurse. She became pregnant and a crisis abortion was arranged by staff at the NHS mental health hospital where she was a patient. The details of what happened were hidden and Alison emerged from the care of the NHS more damaged than when she had been admitted. She took her life on what would have been her aborted child's third birthday. Though the names are known, no one has ever been held accountable for the crimes committed against her. In a quest for truth, accountability, and justice that has stretched over three decades, Alison's family has been misled, lied to, and failed by the NHS, the Police, and the Crown Prosecution Service. This true at times barely believable story is one of ordinary people showing extraordinary determination and courage. It is an unconventional honest and deeply personal attempt to bring what has been hidden into the light for all to see. It is a story of the abuse of power, the hiding of wrongdoing, and a fight for the truth that is not yet over. "Insightful, compelling and disturbing." - John Seddon. "A very valuable reminder that, at its worst, and even with the best of intent to begin with, our experience of a really bad bureaucracy can be no different from tyranny." - Rory Sutherland. "Alison's death raises very important questions about safeguarding and the exploitation of vulnerable people who are in receipt of mental health services. The ongoing struggle her family have experienced in accessing truth and justice is one faced by too many bereaved people in the UK to this day. This book is an important reflection on that struggle, and on the defensiveness of public services who failed Alison when she needed them most." - Deborah Coles, Executive Director, INQUEST.