It’s getting nasty as the blame game starts…….
Scotland Yard accuses the BBC of hampering its investigations into historical child sexual abuse
Scotland Yard has accused the BBC of undermining its investigation into historical child sex abuse, claiming that the corporation’s actions risked deterring victims from coming forward.
Scotland Yard said that the BBC’s actions “could compromise the evidential chain should a case ever proceed to court”.
In a strongly worded statement it cited the example of Jimmy Savile, who was propelled to stardom by the corporation, to illustrate the dangers if potential witnesses are deterred from coming forward. Savile went unchallenged for years despite rumours of him abusing underage girls.
“Hundreds of people never came forward in part because they feared the consequences of making allegations against a powerful public figure,” said the statement.
“We are worried that this programme and other recent reporting will deter victims and witnesses from coming forward in future.”
Scotland Yard has insisted that the BBC’s handling of the investigation threatens to hamper its own criminal inquiries. .
A spokesman for the Met said: “We trust that the BBC has given due consideration to the impact of its reporting on ‘Nick’ and how it fulfils its responsibility to a witness making allegations of a sensitive and personal nature which were broadcast to millions of people.”
I’m guessing the police and the BBC won’t be teaming up again to raid a celebrity’s house on spurious, flimsy and unsubstantiated charges.
It would have helped if the cops had not called the bizarre claims of a man who says he was raped by Edward Heath, Harvey Proctor and the Chief of the Defence Staff “credible and true”. Obviously no need for a trial then.
I do not know if any of the allegations against these elite VIP establishment paedophile rings are true or not, but they MUST be properly and fully investigated by the police.
Rob, If you had read what the officers said, and what they said in relation to their reasoning, you would not write such an ignorant comment. Whenver anyone presents a complaint of this sort to the police, especially after what happened with Savile, it is the duty of officers to START from a position of accepting allegations as credible and “true in the mind of the alleged victim” and from there to investigate to see IF their allegations have any evidence supporting them. In these historical cases, evidence is very hard to come by, so it requires many hours of painstaking investigation, uncovering timelines at locations and gathering third party witnesses to corroborate, gathering phone records, anything that could have been recorded or written down, pictures from the time of locations involved and anything else which can corroborate, or disprove the allegation. The police are trying to build an accurate picture of a time long ago. Whilst very difficult, it is not impossible.
If you were repeatedly raped 40 years ago, how would you prove it? and would you not want justice? There is not statutes of limitations on rape or murder you know.
Geyza
All valid points but as I understand it the police were aware the allegations were rubbish before Leon Brittan died yet didn’t trouble themselves to pass this info onto the dying man or his anguished family. The poor man died under the cloud of the worst allegations society can chuck at an individual.
It seems to me that during the Saville case the DPP were their usual useless selves, the police sloppy, even morally culpable and the BBC wholly unconcerned with child rapes taking place in its own offices.
Now innocent famous people are being crushed by all three agencies almost, it would seem, to make amends for the agency’s past failings.
Geyza:
The police may choose to investigate an allegation, it does not mean they have to go on TV and state that the claims of the alleged victim are “credible and true”. If the claims are “true” then the accused must be guilty, and so why bother with a trial?
For senior policemen to accept as “true” claims that a former Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Chief of the Defence Staff were in the habit of raping and murdering small children raises more questions about their judgment and credulity than it answers.
Rob, you are misunderstanding proceedure.
The police have to START from a position of assuming the allegations are credible and true, then seek to disprove them, and if they cannot “eliminate” the accused from their enquiries, they will have evidence to seek prosecution at trial. The alternative is to start from a position of disbelief and then no investigation would happen at all.
It does NOT mean that they automatically believe all they are told and arrest and prosecute people on day one. The proof of that is that Leon Brittan was never charged with any crime as investigations were on-going. There is much more evidence against these VIP’s than Panorama let on. They accuse to the MET of only having one or two complainants? Nonsense. There are hundreds and all of them have to have their versions of events investigated, cross-checked, corroborated with other victims. This is a very long, difficult and on-going process. They are also speaking to ex-officers who have evidence of times when they were told to back off from previous investigations, in order to protect high level paedophiles. The BBC is trying to cover-up for mass paedophilia, as they did with Savile, Hall, Harris et al.
Geyza:
“The BBC is trying to cover-up for mass paedophilia, as they did with Savile, Hall, Harris et al. ”
Well you seem to have made your mind up. I sincerely hope you never get to serve on a jury.
When a complaint is made to the police, they are under no duty to go on TV and announce that it is “credible and true”. I have never heard of them ever doing that until this case. I have never heard of the police holding a press conference outside a dead man’s house and inviting his “victims” to come forward. This is unprecedented in my experience.
If you truly think that the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Staff, men who are under constant armed guard and observation, can slip away for a spot of child rape and murder, then you are either extremely credulous or, it seems, a senior police officer.
I am more inclined to believe former guards of such people who do claim that such people abused children. Why do you suppose that Ted Heath’s former bodyguards called his yacht, “morning sickness”.
I don’t know Geyza. Why don’t these guards, if they exist, come forward and make these claims in public? It is not as if Edward Heath is going to sue them for slander. Or is this just another internet rumour?
No, no, no! The police MUST NOT “start by assuming allegations are credible and true” since in that way, they have already made a judgement in advance of the evidence. It is essential the police start with an open mind, and seek evidence both for and against the allegations. Overarching this is the absolute imperative of ensuring accused is never identified unless a criminal charge is brought.
According to the programme, Tw@son’s got some embarrassing questions to answer.
The libel lawyers are probably on the phone as I type.
I wonder if the BBC will report this ?
#notnews #ANewsroomTealady BBC Trending has picked it up. #bbcsourcesunderstand
Meanwhile Jimmy Savile is still dead and still not been found ‘guilty’ as he was never charged….or has the old maxim of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ a thing of the past?
Want to run that one past the BBC first? Speaking of sackmates.
Well said Jerry – as far as I am aware, ALL formal independent investigations into the allegations against Mr Savile have found said allegations to be either unproven or demonstrably false. There are however a number of individuals and organisations which have an interest in perpetuating the ‘worst paedophile ever’ gravy train – see:-
http://annaraccoon.com/category/duncroftsavile/
or:-
http://jimcannotfixthis.blogspot.co.uk/
for detailed factual analysis and intelligent comment.
After reviewing evidence that there was to bring against Mr Savile today’s prosecuting authorities and Police say he should have been brought to trial on a number of occasions. Exactly what axe are you grinding?
I agree, Jerry. The investigation should be concentrating on the living, whether BBC current or former employees or not. So far as Savile is concerned, presumebly that will be covered in the Smith Report, if it is ever published !
This whole panorama programme is a deeply irresponsible exercise in trying to discredit a police investigation before there has even been any decision to proceed to court. This is typical of the paedophile protecting BBC. They actively protected Savile for decades, Stuart Hall for decades and Rolf Harris for decades. The Panorama people claim that the public have a genuine interest in knowing if any of the allegations against VIPs are credible? THAT IS FOR THE COURTS TO DECIDE!!! It is NOT the job of the BBC to act as judge and jury in pre-judging a case before it even makes it to court. The BBC had NO access to any of the mountains of evidence in the possession of Operation Midland Officers, from hundreds of victims, witnesses and other experts. The Panorama team were reporting from a position of total ignorance and solely acting with one intention. To discredit any case to try to prevent it even going to court and whilst the police and witnesses cannot defend themselves, in order to PROTECT the establishment paedophile rings.
Surely the Panorama team should be investigated by the police to see why they are motivated to protect paedophiles?
Geyza, Absolutely. But the BBC are very choosy about which paedophile rings they protect. Amoral hypocrites.
Tragic, but true, Grant.
I thought this was a very good piece of reporting. It did not make judgments but presented the results of their own enquiries and pointed out the dubious way the police had proceeded and the unhelpful (to put it mildly) intervention of Mr Watson.
“Surely the Panorama team should be investigated by the police to see why they are motivated to protect paedophiles?” – Geyza
That is a crazed witch hunting proposition like something Noncefinder General Tom Watson would call for.
The police investigate crimes not the motives for journalists writing what they write.
However if it were police practice, a good squint at Exaro would not go amiss I am sure you would agree.
Has the panorama programme been to Rotherham yet ? Those ‘men’ are still running about, live and kicking.
Ha ! They would need to check out the hotels and restaurants first. Even then …… No chance !
Two branches of the, not fit for purpose, public sector, at each others throats.
Strange, they seemed to work well together over Plebgate.
The 2 public sector branches at each others’ throats ?
A smoke-screen?
Their collaboration in the ” dawn raid” at Sir Cliffs premises also comes to mind – both in London and Portugal
complete with helicopter as i recall…………….and naturally, at our expense.
I’m not surprised that Police’s main job nowadays is to hassle a lot of old white men for 40 yr old alleged crimes. They’ve taken their time but managed to march through that particular institution. Can’t be bothered with burglaries but they’ll send a SWAT team to your house for making an unkind comment about muslims.
And just wait, coming to your town soon, take your dog for a walk and be found not in possession of a ‘poo bag’ kerrrching a £100 pound fine!! Of course there will be a certain demographic unaffected by this, agenda?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-34439590
There will be no shortage of ‘ enforcement officers’ policing that. Do the bags have to be full ?
It always seems that whenever the BBC are challenged they throw their leftist petulant rattle out of the pram.
Is this tit-for-tat bBBC?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34464181
Police complaints reach record high in England and Wales
According to The Times the BBC news department is unhappy with the Panorama disclosures that a man known as ‘Nick’ was talking out of his proverbial. The BBC news team relied on ‘Nick’ for their allegations of a high level paedophile ring. His fantastical claims of children being murdered have been easily disproved by the Panorama team. Why didn’t the BBC news team check before making their news items?
One of The Times’ writers, David Aaronovitch piles into the discreditable Tom Watson, second in command behind the idiotic, Big Issue seller Jeremy Corbyn. Watson gleefully waited until Leon Brittan was being buried to reheat the fantasies of Leon Brittan being a paedophile. He did so in the cowardly way of crushing Brittan’s family in the most spiteful hurtful way when they were at their most raw. The despicable little sh*t knew he could not be sued for defaming a dead man.
No doubt the BBC news department and Tom Watson will be desperate to either explain themselves else apologise …yet again. I shall listen to the BBC news with increased interest today.
The only people Lefties hate more than the evil Tories are each other !
Don’t be silly. The only people the BBC ever appologise to are scientivists who complain when someone tells the truth about the Met Office and the curiously delayed ‘Global Warming’.
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2015/10/6/unchaperoned-views.html
How much is a BBC “apology” worth ?
A BBC apology is worth the same as a BBC member of staff.
A little less than SFA.
LOL ! Really, that much ????
Well they are very rare.