Leon Brittan

[Stumpy Pepys]

Leon Brittan

Se we need to put everyone who's ever been home secretary on trial?
Because if they're not paedophiles, they were covering it up?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Leon Brittan

probably. Tricky to get evidence though. The scale of the Irish system was only revealed when the power structure underpinning it (RC Church) collapsed.

tell me, has teresa may managed to find a judge who isn't either the sister of someone accused of involvement, or a close family friend of Leon Britten to oversee this enquiry yet?

[pebblethefish]

Leon Brittan

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote: Anyone involved in any position of authority over say orphans, or children in care is going to have to be considered gravely suspicious.

Hang on. I used to be a teacher, and therefore had authority over children. Previously, I had worked in a children's home. If you're saying that as a result of doing a caring job I'm "gravely suspicious" then I may get slightly fucking annoyed.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Leon Brittan

pebblethefish wrote: Hang on. I used to be a teacher, and therefore had authority over children. Previously, I had worked in a children's home. If you're saying that as a result of doing a caring job I'm "gravely suspicious" then I may get slightly fucking annoyed.

I think you need locking up, just to be on the safe side.

[MsD]

Leon Brittan

That's a bit rich, coming from the board nonce. ;-)

[sw2borshch]

Leon Brittan

Ha, fingered.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Leon Brittan

Heck.

http://www.exaronews.com/articles/5464/leon-brittan-was-under-met-probe-over-claims-of-child-sex-abuse

Brittan seems to be named in a few of these allegations for the first time. Or am imagining that?

They talked before about not naming so the investigation didn't suffer. This looks like "he's dead, can't sue".

[Tubby Isaacs]

Leon Brittan

Exaro tell me if they'd named, he might have sued and died, leaving them with their costs.

[David Agnew]

Leon Brittan

Or, they might have affected ongoing police investigations about him. The Sunday People have credited Exaro with a lot of their work on this:

https://twitter.com/thesundaypeople/status/559120129725067265/photo/1

Are Exaro mainstream media enough? How about:

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

Leon Brittan

satchmo76 wrote: If tasteless puns are allowable, I'd like to offer (Fuc)Kings of Leon.

All puns are tasteless by definition.

[G-Man]

Leon Brittan

MsD wrote: That's a bit rich, coming from the board nonce. ;-)

Nothing personal, MsD; I'd have flagged this from anyone despite getting the joke, not finding it offensive, and recognising the tongue-in-cheek nature of it. But I'd be a bit nervous about calling anyone, even in good-natured jest, "the board nonce". These things can create an unintended impression, especially on a thread of this nature.

As I said, not a dig, not a declaration of hostility, just a well-intended observation.

[MsD]

Leon Brittan

Yes Dad.

[G-Man]

Leon Brittan

What are you? Four?

[Satchmo Distel]

Leon Brittan

So had Brittan lived another ten years, he'd have contined to deny these allegations and the police would have been left having to decide whether to prosecute a former Home Secretary with evidence that is still not conclusive "beyond reasonable doubt" albeit persuasive?

Brittan would have been a UK Bill Cosby, reputation destroyed but legally probably untouchable.

However, I think the probability of Brittan suing his victims would have been zero, if he'd have had to speak in court, just as I can't see Cosby ever voluntarily going to a court to sue over coverage of his crimes. I think the press chose to be silenced over this issue without actually having needed to do so.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Leon Brittan

Leon Brittan, Special Branch and the creation of a surveillance state

[David Agnew]

Leon Brittan

Vicarious Thrillseeker wrote: I'm not pre-judging but if, in the course of a future inquiry, it was found that Brittan was guilty of certain crimes and that it also transpires that May delayed the inquiry in order to let him die in peace, then she should go to fucking jail for it.

I can't help wondering the opposite - perhaps this has risen to the surface (and the inquiry was set up) because it was known that he had cancer. Raise it all publicly, then curse the "bad timing" of his death.

[MsD]

Leon Brittan

G-Man wrote: What are you? Four?

You wish ;-)

[Etienne]

Leon Brittan

Fair play, that is one of the top 5 funniest comebacks I've read on here.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Leon Brittan

David Agnew wrote:

I'm not pre-judging but if, in the course of a future inquiry, it was found that Brittan was guilty of certain crimes and that it also transpires that May delayed the inquiry in order to let him die in peace, then she should go to fucking jail for it.

I can't help wondering the opposite - perhaps this has risen to the surface (and the inquiry was set up) because it was known that he had cancer. Raise it all publicly, then curse the "bad timing" of his death.

Ursus will tell you you're assuming too much intelligence there.

But I'll agree with you.

[Satchmo Distel]

Leon Brittan

Have this morning's revelations caused any of us to come of the fence as to Brittan's guilt? I've probably moved from 40-60 to 80-20 in the guilty-innocent leaning.

There are also, I suppose, degrees of guilt. If he was having "consensual" sex with 14 year old rent boys, it's no better nor worse than Oscar Wilde, Jonathan King and (maybe) some famous rock stars who will never be prosecuted for it. If he was raping pre-pubescent boys who were being held captive for that purpose (or in residential care) then it's a Jimmy Savile-esque* crime which makes him one of the most vile public figures of the Thatcher era (assuming that his political Miners' Strike actions didn't already put him in that bracket).

*I'm assuming that nobody here would put King and Savile in the same degree of evil.

[David Agnew]

Leon Brittan

I don't see any difference between (as you put it) "consenual sex with 14 year old rent boys and raping pre-pubescent boys.

One of the allegations today is that he witness the murder of a boy at one of these parties. (And this perhaps suggests that he wasn't the MP referred to in these headlines: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i-watched-tory-mp-murder-4636497 - which also suggests as that MP has not been named, he must still be living)

[David Agnew]

Leon Brittan

satchmo76 wrote: *I'm assuming that nobody here would put King and Savile in the same degree of evil.

The biggest difference being that a lot of the boys that King had sex with were aged 16-20, in other words below the age of consent at the time, but above the current age of consent.

[G-Man]

Leon Brittan

Etienne wrote: Fair play, that is one of the top 5 funniest comebacks I've read on here.

Yes, joking about paedophilia is hilarious. So long you put a winky face on it.

[Etienne]

Leon Brittan

I think it would possibly have been funnier if she'd missed out the winky face. The joke was clear enough anyway.

I don't think any subject is inherently unfunny.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Leon Brittan

There are also, I suppose, degrees of guilt. If he was having "consensual" sex with 14 year old rent boys, it's no better nor worse than Oscar Wilde, Jonathan King and (maybe) some famous rock stars who will never be prosecuted for it. If he was raping pre-pubescent boys who were being held captive for that purpose (or in residential care) then it's a Jimmy Savile-esque* crime which makes him one of the most vile public figures of the Thatcher era (assuming that his political Miners' Strike actions didn't already put him in that bracket).

*I'm assuming that nobody here would put King and Savile in the same degree of evil.

I'm really very uncomfortable about this.