COPS SLAM PERV HUNT
Vigilantes ‘made cool’ claim
POLICE chiefs have slated EastEnders for “glamorising” paedophile hunters.
This newspaper first revealed how Mick Carter would discover Stuart Highway was a child sex vigilante.
Mick, played by Danny Dyer, found snaps of young girls on Highway’s phone.
But it was later revealed the character, played by Ricky Champ, was actually trying to snare perverts by posing as a schoolgirl online.
Now the National Police Chiefs’ Council has warned they should be the ones to bring people to justice.
A spokesman said last night: “Online child abuse activists are taking risks they do not understand and can undermine police investigations.”
He added: “Most importantly, unlike our officers, they have no way of safeguarding child victims.”
But bosses at the BBC soap yesterday defended the storyline, saying: “At no point is EastEnders encouraging or glamorising predator-hunting.”
And they also insisted: “Viewers will see the extremely negative consequences of Stuart’s actions.”
Last month Tony Clay, who plays Stuart’s brother Callum “Halfway” Highway, told how Stuart has a “dark” side.
The actor said: “Stuart’s brilliant. The character is quite dark but really interesting, and it is a really lovely dynamic between Stuart and Halfway.”