The Latest BBC Controversy

[Slim]

Without wishing to step into a minefield - is this latest scandal, in which a BBC presenter, as yet unidentified, is said to have paid a 17 year old for naughty pics a bit of an overreaction?

I didn't understand why the police had been involved given that the age of consent is 16, but apparently taking pics makes all the difference.

I mean clearly it's embarrassing and distasteful, but headline news?

[Slim]

Nicky Campbell and Jeremy Vine have both been in touch with their lawyers after being falsely implicated in this by a malicious anonymous Twitter account - apparently the same one - and someone will be forking out a large sum of money, I suspect.

Don't drink and tweet.

[captainkurtz]

Beggars belief that, whoever the culprit is, they'd think they wouldn't get caught out.

Hope those that are falsely accusing on Twitter or wherever get prison terms.

[David L]

Without wishing to step into a minefield - is this latest scandal, in which a BBC presenter, as yet unidentified, is said to have paid a 17 year old for naughty pics a bit of an overreaction?

I didn't understand why the police had been involved given that the age of consent is 16, but apparently taking pics makes all the difference.

I mean clearly it's embarrassing and distasteful, but headline news?

The fact that his livelihood is funded by the licence payer is significant

[Slim]

I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, and it's not something I care about - I just think it's an interesting double standard in the law.

Let's say you're 24, but your girlfriend is 17. You can fondle and look at your girlfriend's naughty bits as closely and as often as you like as long as she's OK with it, but if you take a pic, just as a personal and private memento, you've committed a serious crime.  Is that reasonable?

[David L]

I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, and it's not something I care about - I just think it's an interesting double standard in the law.

Let's say you're 24, but your girlfriend is 17. You can fondle and look at your girlfriend's naughty bits as closely and as often as you like as long as she's OK with it, but if you take a pic, just as a personal and private memento, you've committed a serious crime.  Is that reasonable?

Perhaps, because you can never be assured that it will remain a personal and private memento (?)

[Fishy]

Nicky Campbell and Jeremy Vine have both been in touch with their lawyers after being falsely implicated in this by a malicious anonymous Twitter account - apparently the same one - and someone will be forking out a large sum of money, I suspect.

Don't drink and tweet.

There was a lawyer on the radio talking about this and it may be that people might be creating an assumption of guilt.. if enough come out and say it's not me then by nature people will start to look at those who haven't said anything and start jumping to conclusions by the very fact they have said nothing.. worlds gone mad .. bloody social media.

[David L]

Some relief for Schofield (this time not of the sexual variety)
I've taken my best guess. I suspect it won't be long before I know whether it was a good one!

[captainkurtz]

The builder working at my house at the minute showed me the bottom of the alleged perpetrator this afternoon.  Mad.

[pxr5]

Surely by process of elimination one could likely work out who it is as there are so many saying "it isn't me". I mentioned a name to my wife when we first heard about this and nothing heard from them so far. Can we run a sweepstake? 

[Slim]

This story has taken a real turn for the bizarre, with the supposed victim's lawyer claiming that the allegations are untrue:

"For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish"

[David L]

This story has taken a real turn for the bizarre, with the supposed victim's lawyer claiming that the allegations are untrue:

"For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality and the allegations reported in the Sun newspaper are rubbish"

Honest as the days are long - crackheads 

[Matt2112]

The satirical website News Thump has an article that is surely an instant classic:

"Tabloid that paid a 16-year-old girl to quit school and pose for topless photos remains straight-faced while trying to expose BBC presenter who paid a 17-year-old for photos

The Sun newspaper today remains entirely straightfaced, despite a long and distinguished career spent paying vast amounts of money to potentially vulnerable teenagers to take their clothes off and be photographed".

[Slim]

Did The Sun ever do topless shots of anyone under 18?

Oh yes, they did!




To be fair I don't think tits count, I assume not anyway. It's a law that surely needs the application of a bit of common sense.

[dom]

This is beginning to look like it could backfire badly on The Sun and Murdoch.

He was probably rubbing his hands with glee with a chance to embarrass The BBC.