“The crime broke my heart and then the judge broke my spirit.” Thus
spoke the mum of the 12-week-old baby girl, sexually abused by
40-year-old Alan Webster and his girlfriend, Tanya French.
The
mother of the tot came to see us with her father earlier this week to
enlist our help in spotlighting the amazingly lenient sentences handed
out by the courts to this sickening pair. Webster will serve six years
and French will be out in two and a half years.
We took the
family to The Sun on Tuesday, prompting a front-page splash and a
nationwide campaign to get proper justice for the perpetrators of this
appalling crime.
Violent bullying at school is another issue we have been working on this week.
Back
in November, 15-year-old Natasha Jackman was allegedly set upon by
three girls and repeatedly stabbed with scissors. Natasha’s parents
came to us to handle the huge media interest and this week we had
further meetings with the family prior to case coming to Guildford
Crown Court today [Friday].
This, and other similar incidents in
recent weeks that we have been asked to get involved with, gives a
clear indication that violent behaviour in schools is rapidly
increasing.
Helping create media and public awareness in these, and other worrying areas, is becoming an increasingly important part of MCA.
I’ve
always thought the huge success that the News of the World continues to
enjoy largely depends upon the three S’s: sex, scandal and sport; the
first two of which admittedly we have played a small part in.
Mazher
Mahmood’s Sven sting – involving New Bond Street offices, custom
clearance and expensive hotels and restaurants in Dubai – created a
tremendous amount of public and media interest.
What I found
interesting in the last few days, from the many radio interviews I have
taken part in on this subject, was that a huge percentage of callers at
the various radio stations around the country were unhappy with the
News of the World article.
I will be interested to observe
whether the pleasure gained by those enjoying a good scandal –
reportedly 30,000 extra readers for the NoW last Sunday – is outweighed
by the paper’s football fans who may, like so many others, be upset
with the potential problems the revelations could cause to England’s
chances.
Watch this space… To prove that MCA isn’t neglecting the
side of the business for which it is best known – watch the tabloids
for a sex scandal involving a major British Hollywood star we are about
to break.
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