Boris

these historical cases should be investigated particularly in light of the revelation that David Steele allegedly knew more than he let on

Have you some personal experience in this area Annie? I cannot understand this at all. The odd, unwell person may fabricate things but mostly and sadly it is true that people have suffered. Therefore they have a right to be heard and their experiences validated. Surely?

He condemned ALL historic abuse investigations Annie he didn't distinguish between cases.

trisher ‘in some cases’ this means not all cases ,

Not necessaarily just alleged victims Annie he was condemning all historic abuse investigations and therefore the real cases as well as unfounded ones.
Of course he could have been the one in charge at his school and the one forcing someone else to fag for him. (maybe that's why he doesn't want historic investigations.)

Alleged victims in some cases

I think he has been completely disrespectful to people who have suffered terrible abuse. Just because it was a long time ago it doesn't mean that these crimes shouldn't be investigated. We owe it to the victims. I think it does help them to know that their suffering is being taken seriously even after many years. It's ridiculous to say the money on the investigations should be spent on knife crime of course we need spend money on both.

I so despise the man that I don’t even want to re-read his comments about child sexual assault investigations...
his lack of empathy is staggering...
I cannot bear him ...
And don’t get me started on brexit...

Pear there’s no ‘if’ about it. He did on national radio and it’s easily available online

You may be right trisher if so we should be less eager to condemn him ?

I have long been a fan of Boris, I like the flourish of colour and eccentricity he brings to an otherwise rather grey institution. However if he has indeed used such terminology about such a serious and sad issue I will never defend him again.

Child abuse is the most heinous crime and most often victims feel fear and shame and it takes a long time for some to be able to come forward, hence the great age of the perpetrator or even after the death of the perpetrator and each one needs to be heard and investigated.
However I do feel that names of alleged perpetrators should not be made public until proof of guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt.

If only some right wingers had at least a modicum of humour. The remarks about his education by me were never meant to be taken seriously. They were of course a reference to the fact that public boys' schools have always had a reputation for condoning and sometimes actually encouraging what might be termed abuse. The idea being that it was character building. "Fagging" would still have been in place when Boris was at school, so perhaps he thinks abuse is acceptable. Maybe we should be considering him as a victim?

I believe all those who have been sexually abused (or abused in any other way) deserve justice, no matter how long ago the incident(s) took place.

The victims of such crimes need to be able to see that even if the perpetrators are dead, the organisations for which they worked are being scrutinised.

I am glad investigation into historical abuse is something we are aware of. If there can be no conclusion, if no one is brought to justice because they have died, as have their victims, there is little point in spending millions investigating.

I believe my parents may have been abused in institutions back in the 1920s, but the buildings and people who inhabited them are no more. Record keeping was not rigourous either. Following it up would be pretty pointless and very expensive.

As for the present day, I think it makes it harder for would-be abusers to get away with their crimes if speaking up is the order of the day. Many perpetrators will have died taking their vile actions to the grave with them, but we have to hope those living now with a propensity to abuse may think twice before acting, given this is a high-profile issue.

This isn’t about Boris and his education

EXACTLY, Annie!

Within two posts left wingers slammed Boris and his public school background. The minute I read the OP I thought the very mention of his name would inflame left-wingers. I was right.

It's almost a Pavlovian response.

Bash Boris when you see his name, forget the OP or question posed.

I thought we learned quite a lot from the investigation into Jimmy Saville even though he was already dead. I think that we learned that just because a person is rich and famous they are not therefore decent and honourable, even if they are supported by the BBC and politicians.

That just because someone is working for charity they should not be allowed unsupervised access to vulnerable people.

It would be a sad world if we were suspicious of everybody though.

Agree maryeliza54

Annie the family were suffering anyway. Not following up historic cases because the perpetrator is dead just leaves the miasma hanging over them and their family.

And yes, I'd rather 100 victimes of a historic crime were denied 'closure' than one person got knifed tomorrow

I don't think it for us to be making those kind of judgements.
Actually its very insulting to those people who suffered abuse. I have watched the odd thing where people have talked about what they went through and it is literally sickening.

If the country was properly run, there would be absolutely no need for this either/or mentality.

Yes Boris belongs in comedy but there again politics is a comedy.

I like someone who speaks it like it is (or how they see it) or with a sense of humour so Boris has rarely got me hot under the collar but this outpouring is, at best, crass, at worst, completely offensive to all those who have suffered "malarky" at the hands of sex pests and abusers. It didn't feel like a bit of malarky to me and I still have problems which stay with me over 40 years later. It is a disgusting use of language.
I have always enjoyed Boris on comedy shows like HIGNFY but have never thought he belonged in politics. I think his presence has just shown how awful our political system has become when you have Boris and the politician who is still voting whilst tagged.

In a perfect world, every case would be investigated to its conclusion. Maybe. Though a witch-hunt on someone who can't defend themselves due to being dead worries me.

But in this imperfect world, yes I'd rather see limited resources go to investigating and preventing current crimes.

A lot of people commenting here seem to have missed the point. Boris is not condoning historic offences, he's talking about using resources most effectively. And yes, I'd rather 100 victimes of a historic crime were denied 'closure' than one person got knifed tomorrow.

ab I have no idea what your last post meant and do you know what? I care even less. I just can’t be bothered to continue arguing with your minority views, illogical , ill informed posts. Most posters condemn BJ ‘s language and believe historic child sex abuse cases should be investigated. There’s nothing more to say is there so I’m probably off this thread.

maryeliza fixated on high profile cases

ab you are arguing for putting the wtongly accused before the interests of the abused children. What part of no system is perfect do you not understand? I would also say that in some cases a lack of evidence is not necessarily proof of innocence. The HO under TM ‘lost’ files which dealt with some high profile people and accusations of child sex abuse.

maryeliza I think the same be they high profile cases or not.

Perhaps if a victim found the courage to speak out and the person was dead, it might lead to others coming forward. They could then support each other, which may be a good thing.