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More dreadful headlines for Clegg

February 26, 2013 9:05 am

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The Rennard scandal continues to dominate the papers today – yesterday’s papers were dreadful for the Lib Dems, today isn’t much better. We’re still several days away from the story meeting the much-disputed “Alastair Campbell rule” – but this story doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon:

AlanGiles

OK – I’m ready to be shot down but I have to be honest and say, I am getting concerned the police are spending time investigating retrospective “crimes”, seemingly at the expense of some of the more serious contemporary crimes. Shootings and stabbings in London (and doubtless elsewhere) are now commonplace, but, it seems, the police are more interested in an individual suddenly remebering in 2013 that Jimmy Saville, might or might not, have touched them up in 1968 or even 1958. FWIW, my feeling is that some (not all, but some) people have heard the magic words “BBC” and “NHS” and knowing those two bodies will not want to endure protracted legal battles, will probably settle out of court. Back in the 50s and 60s there will be no DNA evidence, and Saville of course is not around to say what he was doing in 1958, 1965, 1975….. etc, so they are presumably banking on being given the benefit of the doubt. If we are to believe all the allegations Saville was still “at it” at the age of 80. I hope I, like most people when they reach 80, will only want to go to bed with a hot water bottle and a good book. Two other TV figures are currently undergoing trials for alleged offences committed between 25/30 years ago. Be honest: if a policeman came to your door this morning and asked you what you were doing on February 26th 1983, could you honestly say you could remember?. As it is, mens names are being dragged through the mud, and even if the allegations are found to be untrue, there reputations have alreay been besmirched.
It’s rather like the three priests and one former priest who suddenly remembered last week a senior cleric had been “inappropriate” with them – over thirty years ago. Not one of them, not even the one who left the church shortly after, thought to make a complaint at the time. Didn’t it occur to them to say straight out to the cleric concerned – “I do wish you’d stop doing…” (whatever it is he was doing)
I would just ask everyone to remember that the LD story has surfaced a week before a rather crucial by-election for them, and in the case of the – allegedly – pervy priest, just a couple of weeks before he was due to take part in the election of the new Pope, and that just days away from his retirement.
I hold no brief for the LDs or the RCs, or the TV industry, but all this sudden rememberance of things past seems slightly suspect to me. More to do with cash than Proust.
AlanGiles

OK – I’m ready to be shot down but I have to be honest and say, I am getting concerned the police are spending time investigating retrospective “crimes”, seemingly at the expense of some of the more serious contemporary crimes. Shootings and stabbings in London (and doubtless elsewhere) are now commonplace, but, it seems, the police are more interested in an individual suddenly remebering in 2013 that Jimmy Saville, might or might not, have touched them up in 1968 or even 1958.

FWIW, my feeling is that some (not all, but some) people have heard the magic words “BBC” and “NHS” and knowing those two bodies will not want to endure protracted legal battles, will probably settle out of court. Back in the 50s and 60s there will be no DNA evidence, and Saville of course is not around to say what he was doing in 1958, 1965, 1975….. etc, so they are presumably banking on being given the benefit of the doubt. If we are to believe all the allegations Saville was still “at it” at the age of 80. I hope I, like most people when they reach 80, will only want to go to bed with a hot water bottle and a good book.

Two other TV figures are currently undergoing trials for alleged offences committed between 25/30 years ago. Be honest: if a policeman came to your door this morning and asked you what you were doing on February 26th 1983, could you honestly say you could remember?. As it is, mens names are being dragged through the mud, and even if the allegations are found to be untrue, there reputations have already been besmirched.

It’s rather like the three priests and one former priest who suddenly remembered last week a senior cleric had been “inappropriate” with them – over thirty years ago. Not one of them, not even the one who left the church shortly after, thought to make a complaint at the time. Didn’t it occur to them to say straight out to the cleric concerned – “I do wish you’d stop doing…” (whatever it is he was doing)

I would just ask everyone to remember that the LD story has surfaced a week before a rather crucial by-election for them, and in the case of the – allegedly – pervy priest, just a couple of weeks before he was due to take part in the election of the new Pope, and that just days away from his retirement.

I hold no brief for the LDs or the RCs, or the TV industry, but all this sudden rememberance of things past seems slightly suspect to me. More to do with cash than Proust.

Rennard denies the allegations. It might be fun to take a swipe at him for party political advantage, but you need to be sure that nobody is going to crawl out of the woodwork and claim a senior Labour politician misbehaved himself with them 10 or 20 years ago.

Perhaps better not to cast the first stone?
- AlanGiles
  
  An interview with a woman who didn’t want to give her surname “because of possible press intrusion” who is complaining of an incident in 2008 on The World At One (R4 26/2/13) seemed to me to raise more questions than it answered. This woman was a councillor, wanting to be an MP, and after the alleged incident she “wanted her daddy”.
  
  “Wanted her daddy”!. If she is that immature perhaps it is as well she did not become an MP, but, as she didn’t want to make the matter public 5 years ago, it begs the question as to why she has chosen to reveal that “9 or 10 of her friends” were also allegedly harrassed in the week prior to the Eastleigh election, especially as she claims to still have great loyalty for her party. Why this week after 5 years – why not next week?

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