It had to happen, having trashed the reputation of A List star Rolf Harris with all manner of lurid allegations, and convicted him of historical sex offences on the word of a number of women with whom no man with half a brain would willingly share an empty elevator, the Operation Yewtree witch-hunt has turned its attentions to Cliff Richard.
Like Rolf Harris, Cliff – who was knighted in 1995 – has been more of a household name than a well-known celebrity since the 1950s. Unlike Rolf, he has long been the subject of whispers, rumour and innuendo about his sexuality. The reason for that is not far to seek, he has never married, and for the people who run our sex-obsessed tabloid media, that can mean only one thing. Today it has been reported that a property he owns in South Yorkshire has been searched in connection with an alleged historical sex offence against an underage boy in the 1980s. This “investigation” is said not to be connected with Operation Yewtree, but who are they trying to kid?
So is Cliff Richard a closet homosexual or worse? The truth is somewhat different; in the 1980s he had a relationship with tennis player Sue Barker, but that fizzled out. However, those with longer memories will recall that in the early 1960s when he was the nearest thing the UK ever had to Elvis, he had hordes of young female fans, and at least one love affair, with the wife of a fellow musician. Doubtless there have been others, but a gentleman never tells. Well, seldom in his case.
So what next? Hopefully we won’t see the same ludicrous spectacle we did with Rolf Harris, an appeal for further “victims” to come forward – overt or veiled – a mass of mentally disturbed young men and perhaps a few women for good measure obliging with lurid allegations, and then after the dozens or hundreds have been whittled down to ten or twelve, the odious Sasha Wass presenting the prosecution case at Southwark Crown Court explaining how these allegations are all strikingly similar, how the victims’ lives have been ruined, and how they have shown “great courage” in coming forward anonymously. Apart from one bloke out who sold his story to a tabloid for £50,000.
The barrister Barbara Hewson has explained in detail the folly of tolerating this kind of nonsense, but who in the corridors of power is listening? If you walked into a police station and reported a common or garden assault by Cliff Richard, Rolf Harris or even Gary Glitter in the 1980s, the man behind the desk would ask you why you hadn’t reported it sooner, and even if you got to see a detective, you would be shown the door in double quick time. Don’t expect that to happen here.
[The above article was published originally August 14, 2014. I have linked only to one article by Barbara Hewson in the above, but she has written several others on this subject.]
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