existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I think the winners would need to be moderately competent lawyers, all the same...
How much evidence is there of long term high level UK paedophile ring?
- Thread starter free spirit
- Start date
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
quite so.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
And not much given to flights of self-regarding histrionics.
DotCommunist
So many particulars. So many questions.
I see Jonathan Kings been nicked.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
if he's charged i look forward to his defence statement, or the king's speech as it's known in legal circles
elbows
Well-Known Member
elbows
Well-Known Member
Catching up with Exaro articles. I continue to have mixed feelings about Exaro at times.
One Dolphin Square witness/victim has stopped cooperating with police after they referred his baby son to social services.
Police ‘betray’ CSA survivor by referring his son to social services | ExaroNews
A strong defence of Exaros practices in relation to 'Nick' and the idea that police on the case still view him as credible:
Analysis: why police continue to investigate claims by ‘Nick’ | ExaroNews
Hard to properly judge for ourselves since the details that apparently give credibility to his account cannot be revealed at this point.
A story about one of Proctors ex-lovers giving a statement to police:
Harvey Proctor’s ex-lover talks to Met’s ‘Operation Midland’ | ExaroNews
One Dolphin Square witness/victim has stopped cooperating with police after they referred his baby son to social services.
Police ‘betray’ CSA survivor by referring his son to social services | ExaroNews
A strong defence of Exaros practices in relation to 'Nick' and the idea that police on the case still view him as credible:
Analysis: why police continue to investigate claims by ‘Nick’ | ExaroNews
Hard to properly judge for ourselves since the details that apparently give credibility to his account cannot be revealed at this point.
A story about one of Proctors ex-lovers giving a statement to police:
Harvey Proctor’s ex-lover talks to Met’s ‘Operation Midland’ | ExaroNews
Lurdan
old wave
IPCC announce a further 12 investigations concerning
The details of these allegations are :
Even so despite my gloomy conviction that some of this is more about covering arse than any reflection of the quality of the evidence (and also despite my scepticism about testimony from former police officers) this is an interesting development.
The details of these allegations are :
Once upon a time resistance to investigating allegations of wrongdoing was so strong that if an investigation was announced one could be reasonably certain that there were strong grounds for it. Today that's no longer as true.
Even so despite my gloomy conviction that some of this is more about covering arse than any reflection of the quality of the evidence (and also despite my scepticism about testimony from former police officers) this is an interesting development.
Lurdan
old wave
No idea. Speculation at the Needleblog that it might be Peter Morrison.
elbows
Well-Known Member
I don't think that much of their speculation, especially as they seem a bit confused about the prospects for investigations being buried after someone has been charged.
I guess I'm not going to get an answer on this one from mainstream sources now since, even if it would be safe to name the MP purely in relation to historical charges faced, the fresh accusations make it unsafe to do so.
Meanwhile I note this info in a Guardian article thats initial focus was on the latest IPCC stuff.
Police watchdog expands inquiry into alleged cover-up of paedophile network
I guess I'm not going to get an answer on this one from mainstream sources now since, even if it would be safe to name the MP purely in relation to historical charges faced, the fresh accusations make it unsafe to do so.
Meanwhile I note this info in a Guardian article thats initial focus was on the latest IPCC stuff.
Police watchdog expands inquiry into alleged cover-up of paedophile network
elbows
Well-Known Member
Lurdan
old wave
Exaro certainly seem to have forgotten the "winning friends" bit of the task of "influencing people". The kind of bullish Fleet Street arrogance Mark Watts displays is one thing when you're the editor of The Sun and it's still 2005. Quite another when it's 2015 and you're the editor of a financially troubled press agency which isn't producing much new copy. As far as I can see the only new aspect of the Eye story is the information from their annual accounts. The rest repeats criticisms (for example in Matthew Scott's blog post, a shortened version of which appeared in the Telegraph) and facts (amongst other examples the Mail's background piece on Exaro in one of their Harvey Proctor stories) already published elsewhere. It's part of the increasingly hostile scrutiny Exaro have received since Proctor's press conference, and in particular the publication of the text of the Operation Midland disclosure document setting out the matters he was to be questioned about.
In a statement today about setting up a dedicated team to deal with the workload from the IPCC investigations into Police corruption, the requirements of the Goddard enquiry, and criminal investigations relating to Operations Fairbank and Yewtree, the Met also confirmed that Operation Midland is still ongoing.
Met creating team to deal with historical child abuse cases - BBC
The fact that unlike criminal investigations relating to Yewtree and Fairbank, Midland is specifically not being absorbed into this new unit might indicate that the Met are confident about it. Or then again it might not.
Interesting timing if that's correct. The Mail story claiming that Operation Midland was in trouble appeared on the 5th September. And was followed by last Sunday's Sunday Times story (paywalled) about "Darren", which stated
which was picked up by the Mail and the Telegraph.
A POLICE investigation into claims of murder by a VIP paedophile ring has been halted after detectives could find no evidence to support the allegations.
Officers from the Suffolk force became so worried by the behaviour of the “witness” who made the claims — known only as Darren — that they have referred his son to social services.
Darren has now said that he will no longer co-operate with the police. He had previously given lurid accounts of two incidents in which he claimed people died at the hands of a paedophile gang that included a senior Conservative politician.
His claims have been given widespread coverage in newspapers and on the internet. In July he was interviewed for an Australian television documentary, the 60 Minutes programme on Channel 9, during which he named a Conservative MP as being part of the gang.
The declaration that there is no evidence to support Darren’s claims is another setback to the campaign by the new deputy Labour leader Tom Watson and others to show that a paedophile ring once operated at the highest level of the government.
Last week it was reported in the Daily Mail that police had “grave doubts” over allegations by a second witness, known as “Nick”, who claimed to know of three murders by the gang, but officers could not find a “shred of credible evidence” to substantiate them.
In addition, a source has told The Sunday Times that Operation Midland — a separate investigation by the Metropolitan police into the alleged Westminster ring — is “going nowhere” because detectives can find no evidence to corroborate the stories of witnesses.
Last month Mark Williams-Thomas, the former police officer who exposed Jimmy Savile as a serial sex offender, warned that many of the current allegations against political figures were unsubstantiated and could undermine efforts to tackle child abuse.
Darren made his claims in an interview with the investigative news website Exaro, in which he claimed to have fallen into the hands of the VIP paedophile ring at the age of 15 when he undertook work experience at Thornham Magna estate in Suffolk.
At the time, he said, the known paedophile Peter Righton was renting a house on the estate after his conviction for possessing child pornography in 1992.
He claimed Righton was involved in the killing of a man in his thirties on the estate and that he knew of a girl who had died during a VIP paedophile party at the Dolphin Square apartment block in Westminster where Righton took him on a number of occasions in 1993.
But Suffolk police have investigated all the claims and found no evidence to support his account. In fact, police sources say Darren had never come into contact with Righton or worked at the estate when Righton lived there.
Watson had claimed in October 2012 that Righton, a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange group who died in 2007, was a key figure in the alleged Westminster paedophile ring.
Darren said he was abused by Righton and Charles Napier — who was jailed for 13 years in December for sex attacks at a boys’ school — while working at Thornham Magna.
He said Righton once forced him to strap a man called Andrew, who had Down’s syndrome, to the front of a car and tie his legs to another vehicle. The two vehicles were then reversed apart.
“I do not know for sure whether Andrew was killed. But he had been a regular fixture on the estate, and that was the last I saw of him,” Darren has been quoted as saying. He further claimed Andrew had helped him dig six graves on the estate “four in a field, and another two in some woods”.
“Two days later, I walked past the place where we had dug four of the graves, and they were filled in,” he said. “I believe he was murdered and put in one of those graves.”
Darren alleged that Righton trafficked him and other children to Dolphin Square for the parties where he saw a 15- year-old girl taken into what was described as the “medical room” and never saw her again. When asked what he believed had happened to her, he replied: “She’s dead.”
Suffolk police said: “We fully investigated the claims and these have been found to be unsubstantiated.”
On the referral of Darren’s child to social services, the force added: “We have a duty of care to protect young people where a concern has been raised for their wellbeing.”
Speaking yesterday, Darren said: “My allegations are true, I have no reason to lie to anyone, I’ve never made any money from speaking out and neither would I want to. I told the truth in the belief that there would be justice. Why would I lie? What would I have gained by lying?”
On the suggestion that he had not been at Thornham Magna during Righton’s time he said: “I have records that state differently.”
Darren had previously accused the police of a “betrayal of trust” by referring his son to social services and claimed it had been done “to silence me”.
Mark Watts, editor-in-chief of Exaro, said it fully stood by the accounts of both Darren and Nick.
Officers from the Suffolk force became so worried by the behaviour of the “witness” who made the claims — known only as Darren — that they have referred his son to social services.
Darren has now said that he will no longer co-operate with the police. He had previously given lurid accounts of two incidents in which he claimed people died at the hands of a paedophile gang that included a senior Conservative politician.
His claims have been given widespread coverage in newspapers and on the internet. In July he was interviewed for an Australian television documentary, the 60 Minutes programme on Channel 9, during which he named a Conservative MP as being part of the gang.
The declaration that there is no evidence to support Darren’s claims is another setback to the campaign by the new deputy Labour leader Tom Watson and others to show that a paedophile ring once operated at the highest level of the government.
Last week it was reported in the Daily Mail that police had “grave doubts” over allegations by a second witness, known as “Nick”, who claimed to know of three murders by the gang, but officers could not find a “shred of credible evidence” to substantiate them.
In addition, a source has told The Sunday Times that Operation Midland — a separate investigation by the Metropolitan police into the alleged Westminster ring — is “going nowhere” because detectives can find no evidence to corroborate the stories of witnesses.
Last month Mark Williams-Thomas, the former police officer who exposed Jimmy Savile as a serial sex offender, warned that many of the current allegations against political figures were unsubstantiated and could undermine efforts to tackle child abuse.
Darren made his claims in an interview with the investigative news website Exaro, in which he claimed to have fallen into the hands of the VIP paedophile ring at the age of 15 when he undertook work experience at Thornham Magna estate in Suffolk.
At the time, he said, the known paedophile Peter Righton was renting a house on the estate after his conviction for possessing child pornography in 1992.
He claimed Righton was involved in the killing of a man in his thirties on the estate and that he knew of a girl who had died during a VIP paedophile party at the Dolphin Square apartment block in Westminster where Righton took him on a number of occasions in 1993.
But Suffolk police have investigated all the claims and found no evidence to support his account. In fact, police sources say Darren had never come into contact with Righton or worked at the estate when Righton lived there.
Watson had claimed in October 2012 that Righton, a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange group who died in 2007, was a key figure in the alleged Westminster paedophile ring.
Darren said he was abused by Righton and Charles Napier — who was jailed for 13 years in December for sex attacks at a boys’ school — while working at Thornham Magna.
He said Righton once forced him to strap a man called Andrew, who had Down’s syndrome, to the front of a car and tie his legs to another vehicle. The two vehicles were then reversed apart.
“I do not know for sure whether Andrew was killed. But he had been a regular fixture on the estate, and that was the last I saw of him,” Darren has been quoted as saying. He further claimed Andrew had helped him dig six graves on the estate “four in a field, and another two in some woods”.
“Two days later, I walked past the place where we had dug four of the graves, and they were filled in,” he said. “I believe he was murdered and put in one of those graves.”
Darren alleged that Righton trafficked him and other children to Dolphin Square for the parties where he saw a 15- year-old girl taken into what was described as the “medical room” and never saw her again. When asked what he believed had happened to her, he replied: “She’s dead.”
Suffolk police said: “We fully investigated the claims and these have been found to be unsubstantiated.”
On the referral of Darren’s child to social services, the force added: “We have a duty of care to protect young people where a concern has been raised for their wellbeing.”
Speaking yesterday, Darren said: “My allegations are true, I have no reason to lie to anyone, I’ve never made any money from speaking out and neither would I want to. I told the truth in the belief that there would be justice. Why would I lie? What would I have gained by lying?”
On the suggestion that he had not been at Thornham Magna during Righton’s time he said: “I have records that state differently.”
Darren had previously accused the police of a “betrayal of trust” by referring his son to social services and claimed it had been done “to silence me”.
Mark Watts, editor-in-chief of Exaro, said it fully stood by the accounts of both Darren and Nick.
In a statement today about setting up a dedicated team to deal with the workload from the IPCC investigations into Police corruption, the requirements of the Goddard enquiry, and criminal investigations relating to Operations Fairbank and Yewtree, the Met also confirmed that Operation Midland is still ongoing.
Met creating team to deal with historical child abuse cases - BBC
The Guardians version.
The fact that unlike criminal investigations relating to Yewtree and Fairbank, Midland is specifically not being absorbed into this new unit might indicate that the Met are confident about it. Or then again it might not.
MAD-T-REX
Well-Known Member
Exaro deserves a good kicking. It withheld the details of Nick's account because it knew the allegations sounded absurd. It hides behind the Met's foolish statement that Nick's account was "credible and true" when questioned about its coverage (how responsible). It attempts to make a story out of every 'development' such as 'Proctor's former lover speaks to Midland' - the implication being that he was revealing all but he could have told the police that nothing happened.
And its arrogance and crowing leaves something to be desired. @ExaroNews never fails to retweet someone saying 'Exaro is the best!!!' and it inexplicably claimed the credit for the CPS reversing its decision on Janner.
I'm starting to see parallels between Exaro and Wikileaks - a good cause is ultimately going to be undermined by people who see it primarily as a path to success and adoration from their followers.
I'd say that it doesn't. If Midland is going nowhere, it makes sense to quarantine it for reputational and confidence reasons, sparing the new unit from taking a hit before it has even established itself.
elbows
Well-Known Member
I can't reach a judgement about Midland because it remains possible that specific details in 'Nicks' testimony actually add credibility to the allegations, rather than detract from them. It seems reasonable to assume that some of the details he gave the police made them take it seriously, even if it turns out to be fatally flawed in some other ways.
So I'll just have to wait and see, but in the meantime I share some of the critical feelings towards Exaro, mostly since they stopped getting much new info and blew their own trumpet too much. I am certainly very hesitant to complain that they took potential victims very seriously, given that was one of the main failures with child abuse historically.
So I'll just have to wait and see, but in the meantime I share some of the critical feelings towards Exaro, mostly since they stopped getting much new info and blew their own trumpet too much. I am certainly very hesitant to complain that they took potential victims very seriously, given that was one of the main failures with child abuse historically.
hot air baboon
Well-Known Member
Midland was also pretty much a murder investigation as opposed to an abuse enquiry....
...without digging up some bodies or accumulating a serious number of independent witnesses you're never going to get to a satisfactory conclusion....which is rather what it is looking like now...
...from this morning
A MOUNTAIN of files on historic VIP child sex abuse cases is missing, The Sun can reveal.
Documents known as “Red Dockets” from highly sensitive cases have mysteriously vanished from police archives, well-informed sources say.
The revelations, said to feature the names of politicians, showbiz stars and a senior cop, come as a Metropolitan Police inquiry into claims that establishment figures murdered three boys teeters on the verge of collapse.
Files which have disappeared include ones from the infamous 1980s Operation Circus inquiry.
It was shut down after undercover cops allegedly photographed rent boys from London’s Piccadilly Circus with VIPs.
...without digging up some bodies or accumulating a serious number of independent witnesses you're never going to get to a satisfactory conclusion....which is rather what it is looking like now...
...from this morning
A MOUNTAIN of files on historic VIP child sex abuse cases is missing, The Sun can reveal.
Documents known as “Red Dockets” from highly sensitive cases have mysteriously vanished from police archives, well-informed sources say.
The revelations, said to feature the names of politicians, showbiz stars and a senior cop, come as a Metropolitan Police inquiry into claims that establishment figures murdered three boys teeters on the verge of collapse.
Files which have disappeared include ones from the infamous 1980s Operation Circus inquiry.
It was shut down after undercover cops allegedly photographed rent boys from London’s Piccadilly Circus with VIPs.
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Lurdan
old wave
Full text of the Sun story fwiw
Deciphering this it appears to be saying that a search of archives to find evidence supporting the claims of former policemen that Operations Circus and Orchid were shut down to cover up VIP abuse and that files from the time would contain lots of VIP names has found nothing. And in other shock news...
I wonder if this is the same ex-policeman referred to in this Huffington Post piece last year about these claims, written by former Daily Mail journalist Geoffrey Seed, who was able to use it to plug his recently published conspiracy thriller with a VIP paedophile cover-up sub-plot.
The way in which ordinary hardworking cops just trying to earn an honest bung were forced out of the Met through political correctness and the need to cover up VIP corruption and abuse, and are now reduced to selling stories to semi-retired journalists is truly a scandal.
A MOUNTAIN of files on historic VIP child sex abuse cases is missing, The Sun can reveal.
Documents known as “Red Dockets” from highly sensitive cases have mysteriously vanished from police archives, well-informed sources say.
The revelations, said to feature the names of politicians, showbiz stars and a senior cop, come as a Metropolitan Police inquiry into claims that establishment figures murdered three boys teeters on the verge of collapse.
Files which have disappeared include ones from the infamous 1980s Operation Circus inquiry.
It was shut down after undercover cops allegedly photographed rent boys from London’s Piccadilly Circus with VIPs.
Sources told The Sun it was axed on the orders of then Director of Public Prosecutions, the late Sir Thomas Hetherington.
A DPP official is said to have visited West End Central police station in early 1985 and ordered the inquiry terminated.
An ex-cop said: “A report went to the DPP which identified under-age male prostitutes, their pimps and clients.
“All that information has now gone. The only conclusion is that the DPP authorised the plug to be pulled on it.”
Names of MPs, showbiz stars, industrialists and a Scotland Yard commander cropped up in the Circus inquiry.
Sources told The Sun that “red docket” files — named after their covers’ colour — were placed in a Special Branch registry but have now vanished.
Analysis of audit trails is being carried out on child abuse case files booked out by officers.
Special Branch is under investigation over allegations of nobbling inquiries which would have exposed figures including MP Cyril Smith.
And so-called X4 files containing unsubstantiated information on paedos, said to be “a goldmine”, were shredded.
The Met’s Operation Midland investigation, into allegations MPs were involved in the murders of three boys, was launched after claims by a young man.
The witness, known as Nick, claims to have seen murders at London’s Dolphin Square and to have been abused abroad by foreign VIPs.
Documents known as “Red Dockets” from highly sensitive cases have mysteriously vanished from police archives, well-informed sources say.
The revelations, said to feature the names of politicians, showbiz stars and a senior cop, come as a Metropolitan Police inquiry into claims that establishment figures murdered three boys teeters on the verge of collapse.
Files which have disappeared include ones from the infamous 1980s Operation Circus inquiry.
It was shut down after undercover cops allegedly photographed rent boys from London’s Piccadilly Circus with VIPs.
Sources told The Sun it was axed on the orders of then Director of Public Prosecutions, the late Sir Thomas Hetherington.
A DPP official is said to have visited West End Central police station in early 1985 and ordered the inquiry terminated.
An ex-cop said: “A report went to the DPP which identified under-age male prostitutes, their pimps and clients.
“All that information has now gone. The only conclusion is that the DPP authorised the plug to be pulled on it.”
Names of MPs, showbiz stars, industrialists and a Scotland Yard commander cropped up in the Circus inquiry.
Sources told The Sun that “red docket” files — named after their covers’ colour — were placed in a Special Branch registry but have now vanished.
Analysis of audit trails is being carried out on child abuse case files booked out by officers.
Special Branch is under investigation over allegations of nobbling inquiries which would have exposed figures including MP Cyril Smith.
And so-called X4 files containing unsubstantiated information on paedos, said to be “a goldmine”, were shredded.
The Met’s Operation Midland investigation, into allegations MPs were involved in the murders of three boys, was launched after claims by a young man.
The witness, known as Nick, claims to have seen murders at London’s Dolphin Square and to have been abused abroad by foreign VIPs.
Deciphering this it appears to be saying that a search of archives to find evidence supporting the claims of former policemen that Operations Circus and Orchid were shut down to cover up VIP abuse and that files from the time would contain lots of VIP names has found nothing. And in other shock news...
I wonder if this is the same ex-policeman referred to in this Huffington Post piece last year about these claims, written by former Daily Mail journalist Geoffrey Seed, who was able to use it to plug his recently published conspiracy thriller with a VIP paedophile cover-up sub-plot.
The way in which ordinary hardworking cops just trying to earn an honest bung were forced out of the Met through political correctness and the need to cover up VIP corruption and abuse, and are now reduced to selling stories to semi-retired journalists is truly a scandal.
bluescreen
tofu eating wokerati
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Ain't that the truth
Lurdan
old wave
Sunday Times reporting (paywalled) that Police have dropped one of the three investigations into allegations against Cliff Richard
Not as yet confirmed by the Police.
Article in the Telegraph about "Darren" with some detail about his past.
There was also a disgraceful attack piece in another paper yesterday about "Nick" which comes close to identifying him. Don't think it should be linked to.
ONE of the three investigations into alleged sex abuse by Sir Cliff Richard has been dropped by police, according to a close friend of the pop star.
The inquiry is said to have foundered because detectives have been unable to find evidence to substantiate the claims. Richard is also understood to have provided police with evidence that he was never alone with two men who allege that he attacked them in separate incidents in the 1980s.
“Cliff has given the police evidence that he was never on his own on the days when the alleged attacks took place,” said the friend, who asked not to be named.
South Yorkshire police and a spokesman for Richard declined to comment but the prospect of an end to the 13-month inquiry will be a boost to Richard as he prepares for a UK concert tour to mark his 75th birthday. Richard, who is estimated to have sold 250m records during a career spanning almost 60 years, begins the tour in Birmingham on September 29. It will culminate with five nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London from October 12. The friend suggested the tour was a sign Richard believed he would soon be cleared.
Richard, who has not been arrested or charged, was on holiday in Portugal in August last year when police raided his £2.5m (£3.4m) home in Sunningdale, Berkshire. Footage of the raid was broadcast live on the BBC.
The pop star is one of a number of celebrities named as being under investigation by Operation Yewtree, the inquiry into allegations of historical sex abuse involving showbusiness personalities. He vehemently denies the claims, describing them as “absurd and untrue”.
One of the alleged victims claims he was 15 when he was assaulted by Richard at a Billy Graham rally in Sheffield in 1985. More than 47,000 people attended the event and Richard was accompanied by minders and other staff. The friend suggested some of those have signed affidavits supporting the singer’s assertion he was never alone.
It was also suggested by the friend that detectives found inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s description of the surroundings at the Bramall Lane stadium. A second allegation was made by a man who said he took part in the making of a music video with Richard in 1981. Again, Richard is understood to have presented evidence that he was never on his own during filming.
South Yorkshire police said: “We won’t be providing a running commentary on the investigation. The inquiry continues.”
Seven celebrities — the comedians Freddie Starr, Jim Davidson and Jimmy Tarbuck; producers Ted Beston and Wilfred De’ath; DJ Mike Osman and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini — were accused of offences under Operation Yewtree but later exonerated. The police have faced criticism over their decision to name the celebrities as well as for the time it has taken to clear their names.
Last week, The Sunday Times revealed Suffolk police has halted a probe into claims of two murders by a VIP paedophile ring after finding no evidence to back allegations by a witness known as “Darren”.
The inquiry is said to have foundered because detectives have been unable to find evidence to substantiate the claims. Richard is also understood to have provided police with evidence that he was never alone with two men who allege that he attacked them in separate incidents in the 1980s.
“Cliff has given the police evidence that he was never on his own on the days when the alleged attacks took place,” said the friend, who asked not to be named.
South Yorkshire police and a spokesman for Richard declined to comment but the prospect of an end to the 13-month inquiry will be a boost to Richard as he prepares for a UK concert tour to mark his 75th birthday. Richard, who is estimated to have sold 250m records during a career spanning almost 60 years, begins the tour in Birmingham on September 29. It will culminate with five nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London from October 12. The friend suggested the tour was a sign Richard believed he would soon be cleared.
Richard, who has not been arrested or charged, was on holiday in Portugal in August last year when police raided his £2.5m (£3.4m) home in Sunningdale, Berkshire. Footage of the raid was broadcast live on the BBC.
The pop star is one of a number of celebrities named as being under investigation by Operation Yewtree, the inquiry into allegations of historical sex abuse involving showbusiness personalities. He vehemently denies the claims, describing them as “absurd and untrue”.
One of the alleged victims claims he was 15 when he was assaulted by Richard at a Billy Graham rally in Sheffield in 1985. More than 47,000 people attended the event and Richard was accompanied by minders and other staff. The friend suggested some of those have signed affidavits supporting the singer’s assertion he was never alone.
It was also suggested by the friend that detectives found inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s description of the surroundings at the Bramall Lane stadium. A second allegation was made by a man who said he took part in the making of a music video with Richard in 1981. Again, Richard is understood to have presented evidence that he was never on his own during filming.
South Yorkshire police said: “We won’t be providing a running commentary on the investigation. The inquiry continues.”
Seven celebrities — the comedians Freddie Starr, Jim Davidson and Jimmy Tarbuck; producers Ted Beston and Wilfred De’ath; DJ Mike Osman and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini — were accused of offences under Operation Yewtree but later exonerated. The police have faced criticism over their decision to name the celebrities as well as for the time it has taken to clear their names.
Last week, The Sunday Times revealed Suffolk police has halted a probe into claims of two murders by a VIP paedophile ring after finding no evidence to back allegations by a witness known as “Darren”.
Article in the Telegraph about "Darren" with some detail about his past.
There was also a disgraceful attack piece in another paper yesterday about "Nick" which comes close to identifying him. Don't think it should be linked to.
elbows
Well-Known Member
Well I guess we always knew those sorts of complications would feature. Its a tricky line to walk, but I think it can be made a lot easier by allowing enough time for things to be explored, and relying on more witnesses/victims coming forwards and lots of small fact checking in order to determine the likely reality, rather than indulging in attacks on possible victims.
For now it remains much easier to study related phenomenon in the media rather than reach conclusions about the crimes, victims and suspects. For example, regardless of the validity of 'Darrens' claims, the following sections of the Telegraph article trouble me:
Signs of both party politics and the very same 'deference shield' and 'contrast social standing of alleged victims with alleged abusers' that contributed to historical cover-ups and victims not being believed back in the day. There must be a way to reflect seriously on the realities of the cases without going down either of these dark tunnels.
For now it remains much easier to study related phenomenon in the media rather than reach conclusions about the crimes, victims and suspects. For example, regardless of the validity of 'Darrens' claims, the following sections of the Telegraph article trouble me:
Signs of both party politics and the very same 'deference shield' and 'contrast social standing of alleged victims with alleged abusers' that contributed to historical cover-ups and victims not being believed back in the day. There must be a way to reflect seriously on the realities of the cases without going down either of these dark tunnels.
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MAD-T-REX
Well-Known Member
It's almost like the newspaper in question is trying to bait the police into investigating it for jigsaw identification of a complainant.
Ah, they are worried about Labour, not just routinely sniping...
Its actual purpose is a smear on Watson.
Lurdan
old wave
As a google search on the phrase "nonce finder general" will demonstrate Watson has been under attack over this issue for several years, and has been attacked far more than either Danczuk or Mann. I'd imagine one reason is that he has been a little more cautious in what he has said and arguably somewhat more effective in raising the issue. (I don't say that because I'm any kind of fan of the man). His elevation to deputy leader undoubtedly provides additional motivation but it is not the only reason for singling him out.
Casually Red
tomorrow belongs to me
Along with 2 others . Bailed the same day .
But none of those attacks involved the Daily Fail investing cash did they?
Lurdan
old wave
Long public statement from the Met about Operation Midland.
Main takeaway is that they distance themselves from any "misapprehension" about what Det Supt Kenny McDonald meant by describing "Nick"'s allegations as "credible and true"
Main takeaway is that they distance themselves from any "misapprehension" about what Det Supt Kenny McDonald meant by describing "Nick"'s allegations as "credible and true"
There is criticism of some media behaviour
which is clearly intended as a more general warning.
There is a pointed suggestion that the media should take account of the vulnerability of people making allegations.
There is a denial that any authorised disclosure of the names of the subject of allegations has taken place.
As to Operation Midland
(...)
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