After cops buried Syrian sex attack claims, what else should we be told?
Sun columnist believes Newcastle police may be hiding even more from the people... and there's no excuse for it
IT’S the deceit I hate. The way the Establishment gangs up so we never hear the truth about issues that may sway the way we vote in ten days’ time.
Take the shocking case of Northumbria Police and how they buried allegations that a gang of Syrians, at least one of them a refugee, sexually assaulted two teenage girls in a Newcastle park.
Even after the suspects were charged and appeared in court, the police did not announce the case to the public or press, even though they claim to put sexual attacks at the top of their agenda, publishing on their website more than 100 incidents and public appeals.
Northumbria police have plenty of form in covering up. It was only a few weeks back that an employment tribunal heard for the first time how the then chief constable got a right-hander from a chief superintendent at a barbecue for having an affair with his wife.
That happened NINE years ago and mysteriously the log on the incident went missing. In my column on May 9 I asked what else they were up to. Now we know — and this is much more serious.
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In the light of the cover-ups of sex attacks in the German city of Cologne — and the fact that the city’s police chief was fired for his deception — you would have thought they would have been more honest to the people of Newcastle since they help pay their wages through the council tax.
But no. For a month now nothing has been said and it was only revealed on Newsnight on Friday night because they had been following two Syrian families for eight months to see how they settled into our country.
Clearly Newsnight should have revealed the news sooner but I give them the benefit of the doubt as there may have been legal issues. There is no excuse for Plod.
What else is going on in Newcastle that is being kept from the people?
Could I urge Northumbria’s Chief Constable du jour to try honesty and openness.
An old idea but it might repair your relationship with the people.
Goodluck Jonathan
I HEAR the aptly named Goodluck Jonathan, the former president of oil-rich Nigeria, has bought a 12,000 square foot house on the ultra-expensive and well protected St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge, Surrey.
I’m sure he gained his wealth legitimately but these houses are £10-£15million a pop, so perhaps the ex-president could explain where his money came from as he has been at the forefront of the fight against his country’s corruption.
Surely it can’t all have been good luck.
Janet was last Porter call...
WHILE undertaking the annual ritual of looking for my own name in the Birthday Honours list (just joking) I was shocked to discover that Janet Street-Porter had received a CBE.
Since it can’t have been for services to dentistry or voice coaching, it puzzled me what on earth she had done in her life to deserve the award.
Apparently there was a scramble by No10 to put more women on the list (they got the number up to 47 per cent, according to the PR) and she was the lucky recipient.
Would the honours committee have been quite so anxious for Street-Porter to receive a gong had they been in the audience for her one-woman show a few years back?
On stage she attacked her mother with whom she had a difficult relationship, describing her to a roomful of strangers as a c***. At least we now know what the C in CBE stands for.
I worked with Street-Porter at the now defunct cable station Live TV, all News Bunny and bouncing weather dwarves.
All she ever said to me in three long months was: “I f***ing hate you.” I was in good company with her mother.
According to the citation, she received her award for services to journalism and broadcasting.
So these days you get honoured for writing ho-hum pieces in the papers and the odd appearance on Loose Women.
Isn’t it time that showbusiness figures and business types were excluded from such lists as they already have enough fame and wealth to last a lifetime and don’t need or deserve any more public recognition.
And in Street-Porter’s case, a lot less.
Something to cheer me up
I WAS feeling quite low after the England result but cheered up no end when I read in The Times that 25,000 IS fighters have now been killed
That means there’s only another 25,000 to go before this stain on humanity is wiped out.
Things are so bad in Syria that the militants are even helping us out by killing their wounded as they can’t cope with mounting casualties.
I suspect the queue for Alton Towers today will be longer than the number of nasty Muslim nutters heading from our shores for Fallujah, don’t you?
Condemn this evil
OVER the past year I have asked repeatedly in this column for organisations like the Terrence Higgins Trust and activist stars like Elton John to condemn ISIS for throwing gays off rooftops in Syria. To date they haven’t said a word.
That must surely change now 50 gays have been shot dead while doing nothing but enjoying themselves in a Florida club. I weep for them.
The Muslim attitude to homosexuality is unacceptable.
Even their most liberal Islamic mayor, Sadiq Khan, was abused by his own community when he voted for gay marriage.
I want to see imams from all over the country – plus EVERY gay organisation – condemning not only this slaughter but also condemning the underlying hostility from their religion towards gays.
Before we take any more refugees into this country, they must sign a declaration showing that they understand we are a liberal nation that embraces different sexuality.
Without the signature they cannot come in.
Getting Punny
HERE are some more of the great punnies you’ve spotted.
Delivery van in the Plymouth area – Cake Whole.
Beads shop in Burnham, Somerset – Highly Strung.
Prison farm shop in Doncaster – Thyme Served.
Hairdressers in Cardiff – His & Hairs.
Mobile burger bar in Pinner, London – Everything Under The Bun.
Chinese takeaway – Brighton Wok.
Mobile dog groomers in Old Windsor, Berks – Beauty For The Beast.
Brewery van in Stamford, Lincs – Alebulance.
Cleaning company in Reading – Dust In Time.
On back of a Mercedes van in Doncaster – Berk In A Merc.
Still love the punnies. Please keep sending them to [email protected].
Dud Roy paid too royally
SINCE President Putin was allowed to invade little Ukraine and grab Crimea (the West waved him through) why should anybody be surprised that his vile fans wouldn’t want to perform the same trick in Marseilles?
But I’m not going to dwell on the scumski but look at the pay arrangements of our hapless England manager Roy Hodgson.
Can somebody explain why at £3.5million he is the best paid coach of the 24 nations taking part in the tournament?
The Russian Leonid Slutsky (true) is paid by results only. We should do the same.
I would start hiring future managers from the Championship. The results would be the same but the salary bill would be less.
I suggest Neil Warnock, who did a marvellous job keeping Rotherham up and has a warm manner that would make the under-talented and overpaid players in the Premier League feel at home.
Hodgson is lucky to be managing anything except a burger van as our performance in the 2014 World Cup was the worst I have ever seen.
He kept his job in part because the creeps who cover football didn’t campaign to oust him.
Football reporters should understand they are not there to serve their Twitter following, write ghosted books for soccer stars or be part of the FA circus but to look after the interests of the fans.
I would be grateful if they started doing so.
Chris Coleman, the Welsh manager, is on £200K plus bonuses.
Which FA got the better deal? Discuss.
More big savings
The thank-yous continue to roll in. Column reader Mel Smith of Castle Donington, Leics, was paying £410 for car insurance and switched to One Call through for £233, saving £177.
Another column reader, Alan Brooksbank, didn’t say who he switched his home and contents insurance to but the bill went from £346 to £110.
I love hearing your cash-saving stories. Do keep sending them to [email protected].