Whatever has the BBC sunk to now?
THE victory for Cliff Richard over the BBC has enormous implications both for the way innocent men are treated in this country and for press freedom but what nobody should lose sight of is the horrendous glimpse it affords us of the ethos and indeed ethics prevailing at BBC News.
If the evidence which came out in court is anything to go by then BBC News is dominated by sensationalism and scoops rather than by gravity and responsibility. Dan Johnson in particular appears to have been repellently gloating but the collection of emails read in evidence is sickening. “He’ll be doing the Jailhouse Rock,” and “celebrity paedos”, are just two examples of not only the underlying glee but of total abandonment of the principle of assumed innocent until proved guilty.
If the police really were blackmailed into co-operation then anybody connected with this incident should face dismissal if he or she knew that.
All that appeared to matter were the headlines, the scoop, the fact that the BBC had a news item which other channels did not. How low has Auntie fallen? Yet right to the end BBC bosses preened themselves and prated of press freedom instead of admitting to a grubby, squalid little operation in which an innocent man learned his house was being searched through television pictures.
ISEE no reason why those of us who pay the licence fee should pick up the entire bill. Dan Johnson, Fran Unsworth the director of news and current affairs, and Gary Smith the news editor should each be asked for a contribution.
Perhaps the saddest postscript of all comes from Cliff himself when he says he can no longer go near children because he fears someone will misinterpret his actions. I suspect this major celebrity is merely reflecting what many lesser mortals go through when falsely accused of a crime. The man accused of assault will hesitate before physical contact, however innocent, with a woman. The old lady who absentmindedly puts an item in her bag instead of the trolley will never want to go into that shop again.
Nay, you do not even have to be accused to be afraid. Teachers will not give pupils lifts or put their arms round distressed children. Strangers pass by when seeing a child bullied by another. A nurse will not help a man lying in the street in case she becomes “responsible” for the outcome. A man will not restrain a criminal in the act in case he is himself accused of causing harm.
My advice to Cliff would be to carry on hugging and my advice to the CPS would be to prosecute his accusers but I don’t expect either to happen any time soon.