In 1967, I remember Tony Blackburn opening BBC Radio One, along with his imaginary dog Arnold, by playhin the Move’s classic Flowers In The Rain. Since then, he has always been a favourite broadcaster of mine, including Saturday’s unmissable ‘Pick of the Pops’ which he has presented for over five years. Now, he has been sacked by the BBC because, and I quote, “the evidence he gave to the Jimmy Savile sex abuse inquiry “fell short” of the standards required.” And with that, Blackburn’s long and illustrious career lies in ruins, along with his reputation. Am I alone in feeling deeply uncomfortable with this turn of events?
I have to tread carefully here because, although this is a very minor website in the grand scheme of things, Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Runne are actively involved and one has to watch one’s words, but I cannot but feel that the way in which Blackburn’s sacking has been carried out seems wrong to me.
I will not dwell on what, if anything, he has done or not done because we haven’t been told, other than the vague reference to him falling short of the standards required. I have absolutely no idea what was meant by this, although presumably someone must. The whole inquiry, conducted by Dame Janet Smith, is shrouded in secrecy and details are few and far between. I suspect that because so many of ‘my learned gentlemen’ are involved is one possible explanation. Certain commentators have expressed great concern at the number of sharks circling the case.
There is one story out there about Blackburn, referring to a 15 girl who subsequently died, but there is no suggestion whatsoever that he is guilty of anything at all. Surely if the authorities had evidence, reasons to believe a crime had been committed, far more would have happened by now other than him being fired from his BBC jobs? It seems to me that he has been found guilty at the outset of the investigation and now it’s up to him to prove his innocence. That seems arse backwards, doesn’t it?
Operation Yew Tree was probably necessary given the number of serious allegations that were made and indeed some men are now in prison, but there have been many more people whose reputations who have been shredded, but have not been charged, never mind convicted, of anything.
Without being specific to anyone, would it not be an idea for allegations of wrong-doing be passed to the police in order for them to investigate? If a conviction then ensues, then an employer can subsequently take the appropriate action. But not before.
My first thoughts are with the victims, also known as the survivors which is not always literally correct since some of the victims did not survive at all. Jimmy Savile left a grisly and lengthy trail of victims and got away with it via a variety of reasons, the main one being the power he accrued. It is also possible than some of the accused are victims too. Not necessarily anyone I have referred to here, but people who have seen their names splattered across the media regarding allegations that turned out to be unfounded, their reputations tarnished forever. (“There’s no smoke without fire”.)
Another star, another favourite of my childhood and youth and later old age taken away amid a flurry of accusations and allegations and so far it seems so unfair. It may turn out that this has been anything but unfair and the age of innocence has gradually departed every aspect of our lives. However this turns out, it’s another sad day.
