WAS I alone in being amazed at The Mail on Sunday’s front page on Jonathan Ross? Political editor Simon Walters attacked JR for making “disgusting remarks about Lady Thatcher” during his interview with Tory leader Dave “Del Boy” Cameron on his Friday Night TV programme.
Ross asked Dave if he had teenage fantasies about Maggie wearing stockings, then enquired if, as a schoolboy, Dave had had a “wank” thinking about Maggie.
The BBC failed to edit out these remarks, which the MoS found absolutely disgusting. This is one of the few TV programmes I try to watch regularly. The way Ross handled Dave is in keeping with the way he has handled countless other guests. He is cheeky, irreverent and deflates arrogance and pomposity with his original, highly individual style. I’ve arranged for several clients to appear. They knew exactly what to expect, as I’m sure Cameron did. His success and the fact he is held in such high regard by the BBC is down to the kind of approach he demonstrated to Cameron. If Maggie was offended and disgusted I would be surprised and disappointed. That one of the most powerful women in Britain was possibly the subject of schoolboy fantasies could well have given her a great deal of pleasure.
Obviously from now on, when I go to the MoS with a tale of political sexual scandal, they won’t want all the juicy details as they did with John Prescott. Naturally they would be frightened of offending readers with such highly personal and revealing information.
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AFTER huge media pressure, the Government is considering revealing to parents the whereabouts of paedophiles living in their communities.
Many MPs and human rights campaigners have warned that introducing such legislation would lead to vigilantes roaming the streets. Having been made aware of all kinds of vigilante activities concerning paedophiles, including when they got the wrong person or address, I would take the concerns of the campaigners seriously.
The other thing that concerns me is that by naming and shaming paedophiles, it will encourage them to go underground and disappear.
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If you know you’re going to be at risk because of people knowing your address, it doesn’t take too much working out they would move and hide until the authorities lost track of them. It’s a difficult problem, but the naming and shaming, while totally understandable, could well make it even worse. The vile activities of paedophiles – many of whom I’ve exposed over the years – ruin the lives of their innocent victims, there’s no doubt. Sarah’s Law, unfortunately, could very easily achieve the same result; a growing number of innocent people mistaken for paedophiles will become the targets and victims of mob violence.
How many times have newspapers got it wrong when it came to identifying people? Only a few weeks ago the Evening Standard carried a picture of a man, meant to be behind a World Cup ticket scam. The man whose company was actually involved bore absolutely no resemblance to the person whose picture appeared.
You see what I mean!
I CONFIDENTLY predict that my client Kerry Katona’s forthcoming autobiography will be a huge best-seller. She is popular with the public, and some of the terrible things she has endured are heart rending and make a gripping read. I’ve always had a lot of time for Kerry, but having read the book, I was astounded at some of the things she’s managed to overcome in her 25 years. I know Ebury Press paid a fortune for the story, but it’s well spent and will give them a huge return on their investment.
The fee for this column is donated to the Rhys Daniels Trust
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