[MisterMuncher]

I presume he's "BBC star" in the papers, not "Politician" or "knight of the realm".

[Safe_Timber_Man]

Batten down the hatches. A shit storm is imminent.

BREAKING NEWS: Cliff Richard is CLEARED and will face no further action over allegations of child sexual abuse
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... abuse.html

[Daley Mayle]

No smoke without fire.

[Esqui]

"South Yorkshire Police have apologised"

Plus ça change...

[The Red Arrow]

Insufficient evidence.

[mattomac]

Why am I not surprised it's South Yorkshire Police?

[AOB]

Just noticed a Louis Theroux documentary about Savile is on BBC2 at 9pm. Not a repeat of the original. The blurb says he "tries to understand how Savile got away with his crimes."

[AOB]

The documentary was okay, there was a lot of "with hindsight" reflections on Theroux's part ,with regards to what he saw of Savile in the original show, and a sincere sense of failure (as the review I have linked below acknowledges). So many people who knew him must feel the same.

There was a moment when he was in the BBC offices, with Theroux. He was dressed in a string vest and shorts. A couple of women were at their desks close by. Savile said "You don't mind if I get changed here, do you ladies?" The screen faded to black and Theroux said; "He was seeing how far he could push us."

Louis Theroux: Savile review – from awkward to seriously uncomfortable … and extraordinary

[Andy McDandy]

Rumours of his proclivities abounded - there's actually a few who say that the Murdoch media knew as far back as 1983, but sat on it as he was seen as "one of us" by the establishment. I personally think that he was a psychopath who knew who to intimidate and who to ingratiate himself with.

[AOB]

Rumours of his proclivities abounded - there's actually a few who say that the Murdoch media knew as far back as 1983, but sat on it as he was seen as "one of us" by the establishment. I personally think that he was a psychopath who knew who to intimidate and who to ingratiate himself with.

I take it you read or seen what John Lydon said about him, at the time, when he was Johnny Rotten.

"He's into all kinds of seediness we are not allowed to talk about."

It''s on the 50 second mark on this:

[youtube]Rjy8oLVOvi4[/youtube]

[D.C. Harrison]

Jerry Sadowitz to thread, too, and the (in)famous fake Have I Got News To You transcript that was doing the rounds in the late 90s.

[Andy McDandy]

There's also the Never Mind the Buzzcocks spin-off book (published 2002) that had a spoof introduction purportedly by Saville. Among the "jangle jangle jewellery jewellery" jokes, there are references to "the sweet touch of the young bare flesh".

When he died, plenty of obits mentioned "unsubstantiated rumours" but never went any further. It could be argued that when it all came public, the papers saw it as much a chance to BBC-bash as to out a sex offender.

[MisterMuncher]

A journo on the show last night (Daily Mail) did essentially recount/substantiate the old Warren Ellis story that Fleet Street knew, but combined fear of being sued, the establishment and losing his charity work kept it off the front pages.

It's entirely coincidental that the Mail's reportage of the documentary focuses on an alleged on-camera assault and how the BBC ignored that rather than their former employee's claims.

[Big Arnold]

Rolf Harris, 87, conviction for groping an eight-year-old autograph hunter in 1969 is OVERTURNED after judges find a witness's testimony 'was fantasy'

Appeal judge Lord Justice Treacy said that a key witness in the trial, a man that had lived in the area of the community centre Harris was said to have visited, gave a statement that was 'a fantasy'.
David James had told the jury he had been on leave from a tour of duty in Korea 'notwithstanding the ending of the war there being a decade and a half prior to 1969'.

FFS! How could anyone in the courtroom, judge, lawyers, jury, reporters, etc, not have known that the Korean War ended in the early 1950s? Not to mention the police, CPS, etc.
The BBC news says that James was a lorry driver who had never been in the army or even left the UK.
My belief that Harris was guilty of any of the offences has been severely shaken.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z4ybzTXjHN" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[spoonman]

A few more uncomfortable examples (mainly Savile) in the replies.