What Alex Barnes-Ross told East Grinstead councillors about Scientology abuses

2.45pm. East Court. East Grinstead. Suited and booted, documents in hand. It’s showtime.

Today, after five months of back-and-forth with East Grinstead Town Council over their close association with the Church of Scientology, I finally set foot in the local government offices for the first time for a face-to-face meeting with two elected Councillors.

This whole saga began back in November when I had noticed the Mayor (and a number of other Councillors) had attended the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) event at Saint Hill, and I contacted the Council asking if it was indeed appropriate to accept a £50,000 cheque on behalf of a charity, considering the numerous pending lawsuits and claims filed against Scientology and its elusive leader David Miscavige.

From the offset, I was clear in my demands: I wanted the opportunity to spend an hour or two with the Council to brief them on Scientology’s policy of ‘Safe Pointing,’ and provide evidence as to why they should perhaps reconsider their close relationship with the so-called Church. My request was denied and on January 8, 2024, I felt I had no option but to pose a question to the Mayor at a public council meeting. After briefly summarising a traumatic event that happened during my time in Scientology, I asked the Mayor: “What are the Council doing to safeguard vulnerable adults, and particularly children from abuse at Saint Hill?”

I was shot down, asked to stop speaking publicly and to refrain from commenting on the matter on social media. On 29 January, four other members of the public posed questions to the Council relating to the role they have played in legitimising Scientology and enabling the abuse that is going on right now, as we speak, in East Grinstead.

The Council’s response was to redact the minutes to both meetings and cut out the entire public questions portion of the YouTube recordings that had been uploaded to their official YouTube account. I was furious, and outlined in my complaint: By censoring us, you are furthering the aims of Scientology.

And so began the complaints procedure. The Council’s argument was that in order to protect themselves from legal repercussions (being sued by Scientology for defamation or slander, by publishing allegations of abuse), the meeting minutes and YouTube recordings were redacted. However, instead of removing just the portions that contained personal stories of abuse at Saint Hill, they had completely removed the entirety of the public question time – and all mention of Scientology.

Today’s hearing was scheduled to last no more than an hour and 45 minutes – “We are expecting the meeting to conclude no later than 4.30pm,” I was told by the Deputy Town Clerk this morning. The meeting actually overran by an hour and twenty minutes and we didn’t end up leaving East Court until after 6pm.

The complaints procedure is simple: I make my case, the Council makes theirs, we discuss, and then leave the room while the panel deliberate. We are then invited back into the room to hear whether a decision had been made, or whether they need further time to respond; in which case I could expect a written reply within 7 days.

I opened today’s proceedings with a statement. I wanted to be firm in my demands, and to provide zero doubts as to why this issue goes beyond just a disgruntled member of the public; this is a local issue of national importance.

 
I’d like to begin with my apologies for rescheduling our previously scheduled date for this hearing due to illness, and thank you for the opportunity to meet with me today.

Before getting in to the substantive portion of my complaint, I think it’s important to first take a step back and look at how and why we’ve ended up here today to provide context as to why I made the complaint in the first place.

The Church of Scientology has a well evidenced history of fraudulent activity internationally – most notably in France where Scientology has been found guilty of organised fraud twice, and most recently in Hungary, only last year.

In 1979, a number of Scientology executives were fined and served prison sentences after it was found that up to 5,000 operatives had infiltrated 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates across the globe in a campaign called ‘Operation Snow White,’ which currently stands as the largest infiltration of the US government in its history. It was orchestrated from the Church of Scientology’s headquarters at Saint Hill, here in East Grinstead.

As a former Scientologist myself, I can speak from first-hand experience as to the abuse, manipulation and underhand tactics employed by Scientology here in the UK. All of the staff you see working at Saint Hill are part of the elite ‘Sea Organisation’ and have signed one-billion-year contracts, dedicating their eternity to working for the church – in this life, and all future lives. They are expected to work 14 to 18 hour days, 7 days a week with no time off, are not allowed to leave the property without permission and are paid just £50 a week. Stephen Jones, who is with me today, was once such a worker. Staff at Saint Hill are subject to harsh punishments and hard manual labour for not complying with the rules, including restrictions to diet and sleep. They are, for all intents and purposes, modern slaves.

Since speaking out about my personal experiences in Scientology, a number of East Grinstead residents have contacted me with concerns about the Town Council’s involvement with Scientology; some of whom are former Scientologists, some of whom have children or family members currently working at Saint Hill, and many of whom have had no Scientology experience whatsoever but are concerned at the increasing presence of Scientology at Town Council events. Scientology has a well documented history of harassing, intimidating, and bullying critics and former members into silence under a policy called ‘Fair Game.’ Bonnie Woods, who is a former East Grinstead resident, won a harassment case against the Church in the early 2000s; numerous documentaries and news articles have reported on how Scientology engages in nefarious attempts to muzzle those who speak out against it and I personally have been the subject to a prolonged and sustained campaign of harassment since I began sharing my story online about a year ago.

Their goal is to control the narrative and as per policy “destroy by any means necessary” its enemies.

When it comes to its relationship with East Grinstead Town Council, Scientology’s policy ‘The Safe Point’ clearly sets out the goal is not to provide a benefit to the community, or to enhance the life of local citizens, but to bring opinion leaders and government officials under their “control.” HCOPL Ethics and Personnel is a policy letter written by founder L. Ron Hubbard in which he clearly lays out Scientology’s opinion of local politicians: “too deficient in imagination to provide real jobs.”

East Grinstead Town Council is being fooled, deceived, and played by an organisation that is currently abusing people under its very noses.

Considering Scientology’s sole purpose for engaging with any level of contact with the Council is to bring you under their control, it was greatly concerning to see the Mayor and other Councillors so quickly and effortlessly jump to defend Scientology, and label me a “vexatious bully” — when I have only ever asked a single question at a single Town Council meeting, and submitted 4 FOI requests.

The Council’s false narrative that I have instigated some form of campaign to disrupt council meetings, bully Councillors and cause distress is completely and utterly false, and no evidence has been provided by the Council to back up these claims.

My purpose for raising concerns with the Council was because the undue influence Scientology are attempting to assert over the Council is an important, local issue of national significance. Although the Council is not the authority responsible for investigating abuse, it does have a duty of care when it comes to safeguarding – and until last week, it did not even have a safeguarding policy.

The question I asked at the Council meeting was regarding what the Council is doing to protect and safeguard its citizens from abuse. I did not make any allegations and the question was entirely within the Council’s remit, as evidenced by the safeguarding policy you have now implemented. By censoring the public record and redacting my question – and all mention of Scientology – from the official meeting minutes, and uploaded recording on YouTube, the Council is forwarding Scientology’s aim of silencing its victims. The Council has shown zero compassion toward me or the other survivors who have so bravely spoken out, and it has taken great effort on my part to even have this complaint heard by Councillors who do not appear in Scientology promotional videos, talking about how wonderful they are and how close their relationship is to the Council. I am not complaining because I want the Council to investigate, or to take action against Scientology – it is simply not the Council’s role to do this.

However, I do feel the Council’s response to my very valid concerns has been completely inappropriate. The Council has engaged in victim-blaming and the emotional and mental anguish this whole situation has caused is nothing but distressing.

I would like for the Council to recognise the distress it has caused to me and my fellow survivors and victims who have also spoken at Council meetings, and to issue a formal apology. I would also like for the Council to agree to the one thing I have been asking for since November – the opportunity to brief the Town Council on why this is an important issue, so that elected officials are well informed before making any decisions in the future relating to supporting Scientology. So far, the Council has been more than happy to spend close to a hundred hours at Scientology events, listening to their propaganda and recording promotional videos for them – but refuse to spend an hour with a single ex-Scientologist to hear the impact the cult has had on their lives. I’d like the Council to formally request Scientology remove any clips of Councillors and/or former Mayors from their promotional materials.

And finally, I would like for the Council to consider reviewing its current approach to accepting invitations to events, charity donations and volunteers from the Church of Scientology. I am not asking for the Council to rule or make any decisions on its so-called religious beliefs, but I would like the Council to fully review the evidence I have supplied today and consider whether it is right to engage with an organisation which is so evidently attempting to assert undue influence on the Council.

Thank you

 
I had requested that in the interest of fairness, my complaint was not heard by Council members “who currently feature in Scientology propaganda videos testifying their appreciation and support for the organisation.” Out of the 16 councillors who form the entirety of East Grinstead Town Council, I understand only four met the criteria.

Councillors Craig Pond and Tracey Hughes, who are relatively new Councillors, have thus far stayed relatively silent on the developing cultruption scandal and, as far as I am aware, have never attended an event at Saint Hill. In complete contrast to the bitter and cold welcome I received from the Town Clerk Julie Holden, Cllrs. Pond and Hughes were warm, friendly, and sat patiently while I made my case and diligently made notes. They asked questions that indicated to me they were not just looking at today’s hearing as a matter of formal procedure, but genuinely wanted to hear my complaint and seek to find a resolution. It was the first time I felt ‘heard’ by East Grinstead Town Council since this all began five months ago.

Due to the Clerk being involved in some elements of the complaint, the Council was represented by the Town Clerk from the next town along (Burgess Hill) and I was accompanied by former Sea Org staffer and fellow activist Stephen Jones, who also happens to be a local resident. After reviewing the complaint, portions of the 1,000 pages of evidence I had supplied (which included OSA policies, letters obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, and government reports warning on the dangers of Scientology) and having the Clerk’s statement read out, the panel started deliberating at 16:35. We were invited back just under an hour later at 17:25. I had fully expected the Panel to come back and make full use of the seven days they are technically afforded to respond to the complaint, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear we were going to get a response today.

On 6 March – well after the Council had redacted both the minutes and the video recordings – the Council were advised by the Sussex Association of Local Councils “that part of the recording where there was allegation of illegal activity in public questions should be removed from the publicly available version.” Based on this, and the advice of their lawyers, the Council today decided that they were in fact correct in their decision to redact the meeting minutes and YouTube upload.

However, the redaction was incorrectly applied. The panel came to the conclusion that the only part that should have been redacted was my personal testimony, which it sees as an “allegation.” The questions asked (and answers received) should not, the panel concluded, have been removed from the public record.

The Council also ruled that for consistency, the same also applies to the meeting that took place on 29 January, during which Danielle Chamberlin bravely told her story of being locked in the chain locker aboard the Apollo by L. Ron Hubbard and was later raped as a teenager at Stonelands. This portion, according to the council, was right to be redacted as it too could be considered an allegation, however the question that followed – and the three others asked by members of the public, should not have been struck from the record.

Furthermore, the panel admitted that in light of the evidence presented and the case I put forward, there were “a lot of learnings” and a number of recommendations will be made to “tighten and enhance policies, and create new procedures” to ensure victims and survivors are not discouraged from speaking out. The specifics of these recommendations will be announced in due course, but I got the impression Councillors Pond and Hughes were genuinely concerned at how the situation had been handled and are personally invested to ensure the Council makes the necessary changes to its policies.

The panel did not, I was told, have the authority to issue a formal written apology to those who had been censored and the survivors affected. However, they assured me they will be making a recommendation to the full Council that an apology is issued, and will also suggest the Council contacts the Church of Scientology to formally request the removal of any current Town Councillors from their promotional materials who may be seen to support or validate the organisation.

It will also be recommended that a meeting is arranged in which I can brief, educate, and inform the Town Council on Scientology’s Safe Pointing and Fair Game policies so that they can make better decisions in the future as to the impact of any future association or engagements

So: a partial victory for free speech, but we will have to wait and see if the wider Council agree to implement the panel’s recommendation that an apology is issued and changes are made to prevent the Council inadvertently enabling (and legitimising) Scientology’s abusive practices.

This is only just the beginning. I’m on war footing, and I’m not fucking about.

— Alex Barnes-Ross

 
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Technology Cocktail

“If a student hasn’t a clue about what he is doing then a thousand goofy outnesses will keep cropping up, each one requiring (a Supervisor thinks) a special instruction.
After a while you get a course text weighing one ton, and all because the student didn’t grab the basic definitions in the first place.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1969

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

 
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones

 
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Source Code

“We are processing as close to definitions as possible. This has always been true in the Advanced Course — in these Clinical Courses. We process as close to definitions as possible. And when we’re right on the button with definitions, we see that space is a viewpoint of dimension, we of course have the basic of any universe. Of any actually created universe, the basic is that there must be somebody there to be the central viewpoint of it. Well, whose postulates would hold in that universe? Of course, the person whose viewpoint it was. That person’s viewpoint would hold. Therefore, we have the god concept. Now, the other things that are manifest here that aren’t mentioned on this data sheet — down here we see the Know to Sex Scale is something that you could use for diagnosis and hasn’t been gone into here very thoroughly. Now, here we have know, look, emote, effort, think, symbols, eating and sex.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 13, 1954

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“GOOD NEWS: Indications are that we will have won the war with Smersh in a year or two. They have lost further ‘prominent leaders.’ We have directly traced and documented their origin to East Germany and have found the crimes they sought to hide. Lesser lights in their ranks are turning to us for guidance. Their network is collapsing under the various stresses to which they have been subjected. They may fight more skirmishes through men they control in govts but it is obvious we will win the war.” — The Commodore, April 13, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Scientology is booby-trapped to the point where Scientologists are sometimes unable to confront and handle reverse Scientology in PT. False bridges are confronted and resolved as an integral component of life on earth and the dynamics beyond the 8th. That includes the 2 primary BTs plus the primary and secondary assumption of beingness for the current eternity. The person is neither and BTs are a lower level harmonic of relative states of beingness, encountered within this universe as BTs which reduce to functions of awareness.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: Helsingborgs Dagblad reported that a member of the Swedish parliament will not appeal her sentence for copyright violation. “The Social Democrat member of parliament Carina Hagg, who was convicted in the district court of Jonkoping for having handed in a copy of the so-called Scientology Bible to the town library, will not appeal the sentence. Carina Hagg, who is a member of parliament from Varnamo, was sentenced to a fine of fifty units. She is also to pay damages to the Church of Scientology, and their legal costs. Carina Hagg has, after discussion with her family, decided not to appeal the verdict. ‘I am disappointed about not having been acquitted by the court, but that disappointment has to be weighed against the pressures that an appeal of the verdict would involve’, she writes. ‘I handed the ‘bible’ over to the library because I wanted to create a debate about cults. I will certainly continue the scrutiny of cults such as Scientology’.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Have you ever destroyed a planet with a jim-dandy whizzer?”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing May 17, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: motion to file new complaint, hearing on May 29.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, hearing on April 16.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Pre-trial Scientology special: The new episode of Up the Bridge, for everyone!
[TWO years ago] The origin of Scientology’s notorious prison program: Hana Whitfield’s eyewitness account
[THREE years ago] Scientology chiro Jay Spina sentenced to 9 years for case that made judge’s ‘blood boil’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology really reaching in latest attempt to keep Philly lawyers out of Masterson lawsuit
[FIVE years ago] Scientology and evolution: The otherwordly experience of reading ‘A History of Man’
[SIX years ago] Returning to Clearwater with a Miscavige cutout and memories of the Lisa McPherson Trust
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s celebrities to the rescue! John Travolta shills while Jenna Elfman melts down
[EIGHT years ago] Class action lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehabs refiled with new plaintiffs
[NINE years ago] If you want the IRS to re-examine Scientology’s tax exempt status, it’s time to get real
[TEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: The Writers of the Future and more success stories!
[ELEVEN years ago] The Saga of David Mayo: Scientology’s Banished Tech Wizard

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 13, 2024 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone