Philip Hammond MP Visits Proposed Site for Paedophile Clinic

In preparation for the meeting in Addlestone on Wednesday called by Home Office Minister, Beverley Hughes, Runnymede and Weybridge MP, Philip Hammond, today (Tuesday) visited the Wolvercote Clinic in Epsom and also the Silverlands site in Holloway Hill, Chertsey.

Following his visits Mr Hammond said,

"I was most interested in the work that the Wolvercote Clinic and Lucy Faithful Foundation is doing to change attitudes and behaviour of convicted child sex offenders after completion of their custodial sentences. From the evidence I have seen, the Clinic is making a useful contribution to reducing the risk that these men, who would otherwise be at liberty in the community, pose to children. The concerns that I and the local community have relate not to the work of the Clinic, but to the process that the Home Office has followed in selecting Silverlands as a relocation site for Wolvercote Clinic and the appropriateness of Silverlands as a site for this facility.

The Silverlands mansion itself contains a wealth of well-preserved architectural features. It would be suitable for a number of uses apart from that now proposed. I understand that the contract for restoring and converting the building, which has already been let by the Home Officer, is worth approximately £2,000,000.

At the meeting tomorrow I will be asking Beverley Hughes to identify the other sites which have been considered for the Wolvercote Clinic relocation and also the criteria for selection that the Home Office has used, so that I and members of the local community can come to a view as to the reasonableness of the Home Office's decision process."

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