Excuses made for ‘flirty’ predators

When Operation Yewtree began investigating British television icon Jimmy Savile for abuse of hundreds of youngsters, they suspected there would be others.

The commonality of the more than 300 witness statements taken in the early days of that probe revealed female victims had reported assaults but they were dismissed as celebrities and comedians just having a bit of fun and getting carried away.

A grope and a kiss and a cuddle in a change room was just showbiz and a carry on from what they would do in public or on stage for the cameras.

They said that about Savile, then they said that about radio presenter Stuart Hall, glam rock singer Gary Glitter, DJ Ray Teret and celebrity publicist Max Clifford and finally Rolf Harris.

There was no particular connection between the men, although they crossed paths or featured on each other’s programs as Saville and Harris once did, but the allegations or crimes levelled against them were their own doing.

But they were connected by being powerful celebrities over a certain time, many of whom bragged they could do what they liked and many did.

Was there an understanding? Perhaps.

A new documentary shows paedophiles Harris and Savile joking on screen together in 1976 about a young girl being “safe” in their hands, in one scene Harris remarking “she is anxious to run away” when she moved from Savile to him.

In seeking to defend her dad despite the severity of his indecent assault convictions, Harris’s daughter Bindi Nicholls said it was an era and “flirty” behaviour was common and accepted.

“Dad is from the age of Benny Hill, Carry On films. He is Australian – which was pretty male chauvinist in those days – that is the era he is from,

“He loves a flirt, which he does very openly, much to my embarrassment, but I have met many a man from my dad’s generation like that.”

Documentary maker Louis Theroux had a different view when he compared Yewtree allegations to Harvey Weinstein.