Oscar exclusive wins him few friends

OSCAR Pistorius’s much-anticipated world exclusive interview was “completely staged and rehearsed”, according to criminal law expert Ulrich Roux.

The Blade Runner has been widely criticised for the hourlong interview, aired on Friday night by UK network ITV ahead of his sentencing on July 6.

‘‘I have no doubt that the interview was completely staged and rehearsed, with the questions being worked out and agreed upon in advance,” said Roux.

‘‘It was easy for him not to contradict himself to a large extent while giving the interview. Pistorius, however, contradicted himself to such an extent while under cross-examination that it was impossible to know what his version really was.”

Roux, a criminal lawyer who has closely followed the case since Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, three years ago, said Pistorius, who is now facing a jail term for murder, had not accepted that he is a murderer.

“He still does not accept that he murdered Reeva Steenkamp. He emphasised the fact that he would serve jail time for negligently killing Steenkamp, but not for murdering her. This shows that he has still not accepted the court’s conviction of murder and thus cannot show proper remorse and claim responsibility for his actions,” said Roux.

The interview, aired on Friday night on M-Net’s Carte Blanche, appears to have elicited little sympathy for Pistorius. He was widely slated on Twitter, with British journalist Piers Morgan tweeting: ‘‘Trying to watch ITV #OscarPistorius interview — but I just don’t believe a word he says. Murderer. Liar. End.”

Steenkamp’s mother, June, declined to comment yesterday, saying she and her husband, Barry, had not watched the interview.

He still does not accept that he murdered Reeva