If John Venables is indeed to be charged with a serious crime then presumably the details will be released when he is charged, which won’t be long in coming.
If the details were released, but Venables was not then charged, the taxpayer is likely to end up with a huge bill for his protection (something else for the Mail to rage about).
So how is the public interest served by a premature release of this information? I don’t think it is. The only interest that would be served is newspaper commercial interess.
the papers seem to think that “information that is in the public interest” is always the same thing as “information that interests the public” – not necessarily so. i agree with phil that releasing any details that would make venables easy to trace would interest certain sections of the public but would not be in the public (or at least the taxpayer’s) interest.
personally i think the fascination with the bulger case gets creepy sometimes and doesnt seem to be in anyone’s interest, such as those emails that get forwarded around with all the gory details of what the boys did to james bulger (and some details of stuff that didnt happen) – is that really the most appropriate way to pay tribute to him.
Well if you know what he has been re-arrested for, then why do you need the official word? or was it because the Sunday Mirror broke with this yesterday, and that isn’t one of your papers (so secretly you hope its wrong)
Just saw it AndyW: Some real charmers there.
There’s even somebody (In a cracking example of lacking slf arareness) complaining that flats in Johannesburg are overrun by Africans.
These people must think Alf Garnett is a reality TV character.
AndyW I saw that article and was shocked right out of my lurkerdom on this site which I’ve been reading with interest for awhile. The Daily Hate seems to have been finally hijacked by the BNP (or even possibly Stormfront) at last. What a disgusting herd they are, the only concilation being that the few hundred green arrows supporting the introduction of internment (concentration) camps are probably (hopefully) the entireity of the people who hold those neo-Nazi views. Even so, today I am ashamed to be British.
If you we to click *hard* on all the ads on the message boards and then mail the advertisers and tell them that that is exactly what you’re doing (while DMGT’s credit control dept pursues them relentlessly) that that would be actually quite good fun.
Last week he was supposed to have beaten someone up, oh well!
The Mail seems to have an imperfect understanding of the separation of powers: executive, legislature and judiciary.
On reflection all but the first eight words are redundant
If John Venables is indeed to be charged with a serious crime then presumably the details will be released when he is charged, which won’t be long in coming.
If the details were released, but Venables was not then charged, the taxpayer is likely to end up with a huge bill for his protection (something else for the Mail to rage about).
So how is the public interest served by a premature release of this information? I don’t think it is. The only interest that would be served is newspaper commercial interess.
Hi Paul:
Perhaps they confused the witness statement. “Beating the Bishop”.
All highly distasteful I know
the papers seem to think that “information that is in the public interest” is always the same thing as “information that interests the public” – not necessarily so. i agree with phil that releasing any details that would make venables easy to trace would interest certain sections of the public but would not be in the public (or at least the taxpayer’s) interest.
personally i think the fascination with the bulger case gets creepy sometimes and doesnt seem to be in anyone’s interest, such as those emails that get forwarded around with all the gory details of what the boys did to james bulger (and some details of stuff that didnt happen) – is that really the most appropriate way to pay tribute to him.
Anyone see the charming response of the DM readers to last night’s death of three asylum seekers in Glasgow?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256136/Three-asylum-seekers-die-Glasgow-high-rise-flat-leap.html#comments
The lack of humanity is really, really disturbing, even for a hardened Mailwatcher like myself.
Well if you know what he has been re-arrested for, then why do you need the official word? or was it because the Sunday Mirror broke with this yesterday, and that isn’t one of your papers (so secretly you hope its wrong)
Well said, hel.
Just saw it AndyW: Some real charmers there.
There’s even somebody (In a cracking example of lacking slf arareness) complaining that flats in Johannesburg are overrun by Africans.
These people must think Alf Garnett is a reality TV character.
AndyW I saw that article and was shocked right out of my lurkerdom on this site which I’ve been reading with interest for awhile. The Daily Hate seems to have been finally hijacked by the BNP (or even possibly Stormfront) at last. What a disgusting herd they are, the only concilation being that the few hundred green arrows supporting the introduction of internment (concentration) camps are probably (hopefully) the entireity of the people who hold those neo-Nazi views. Even so, today I am ashamed to be British.
Child of british couple abducted whilst on holiday.. normally the mail would be all over it. Daily. On multiple pages. For months.
What *could* be the reason they’re not interested, I wonder? :p
If you we to click *hard* on all the ads on the message boards and then mail the advertisers and tell them that that is exactly what you’re doing (while DMGT’s credit control dept pursues them relentlessly) that that would be actually quite good fun.