Several hundred people gathered in the centre of St Helier, Jersey, today to observe a minute's silence in memory of the children allegedly abused in the island’s children’s homes.

The meeting in the town’s Royal Square was also a protest against the way the island's politicians have reacted to the scandal.

It follows the discovery by a police sniffer dog of blood spots on a bath in a suspected torture dungeon at Haut de la Garenne, the former care home at the centre of the investigation.

Several people in the crowd clutched daffodils as a symbol of hope for the future and a number left messages on boards placed around the square by the rally's organisers.

The rally outside the States of Jersey government building was organised by Time 4 Change, a group of islanders who say their aims are non-political but who are calling for a change to the democratic system in Jersey.

Tony Evans, a 25-year-old Jersey resident who set up a group on social networking website Facebook asking for fellow residents to speak out against the abuse, spoke at the rally.

He said: "I believe that the way certain members of our government have represented us since the police investigation started has been deeply inadequate."

Another speaker, Karen Corbel, said: "There are senior politicians on this island who want to gloss over these events and present a positive image of the island.

"But at this point I believe we need to stop and listen and work out what we need to do to ensure this never happens again."

Detectives have heard harrowing accounts of sexual and physical abuse in the home's cellar from the 1960s until it's closure in 1986 and have said they could start making arrests within the next two weeks.

A Jersey police spokeswoman said: "Although the presence of blood in the bath corroborates the allegations made by some victims, there could also be an innocent explanation." The blood samples will undergo further laboratory examination.

Tests are already being carried out on part of a child's skull and what could be burnt fragments of human bone discovered two weeks ago also by sniffer dogs buried under a concrete floor in the same building in St Martin, on the east coast of the Channel Island.

Officers are also examining a wooden pillar behind the bath on which was written: "I've been bad 4 years & years".

Police search teams discovered the communal bath and a pair of shackles when they uncovered the cellar last week. They hope to break through to a second chamber next week and believe that there could be many other hidden underground rooms.

Detectives have information about more than 40 suspects, including members of the island's Establishment and former care workers. They have heard from more than 160 alleged victims. Police confirmed that 100 people say that they were abused there and 25 people are suspected of sex crimes and physical assaults, including senior members of staff and a former politician.

Many islanders have been outraged by remarks made by leading figures of Jersey's current political elite. An off-hand remark by chief minister Frank Walker last week that political rival former health minister Stuart Syvret was "trying to shaft Jersey internationally" by highlighting recent child abuse scandals left many feeling he cared more about the island's image than the victims.

This week a leaked email from current Health minister Ben Shenton which mocked the police officer leading the investigation added fuel to the fire. Shenton compared the island's deputy police chief Lenny Harper to the comedian Lenny Henry saying: "My wife keeps referring to Lenny Harper as Lenny Henry - I don't think she's far wrong."

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