Talking points NEWS 23
10 August 2019 THE WEEK
The Beech affair: police in the dock
“The unfed
mind devours itself.”
Gore Vidal, quoted in
the Inewspaper
“Frank and explicit:
that is the right line to take
when you wish to conceal
your mind and confuse the
minds of others.”
Benjamin Disraeli,
quoted in Forbes
“If you’re calling
Paddy Ashdown, please
leaveamessage after the
high moral tone.”
Charles Kennedy, teasing
one of his predecessors as
Liberal Democrat leader,
quoted in The Times
“The main dangers in
this life are the people
who want to change
everything–ornothing.”
American-British
politician Nancy Astor,
quoted in Forbes
“A little rebellion now
and then isagood thing,
and as necessary in the
political world as storms
in the physical.”
Thomas Jefferson,
quoted in the Portland
Press Herald
“Enemies are
so stimulating.”
Katharine Hepburn, quoted
in Lapham’s Quarterly
“After one look at this
planet, any visitor from
outer space would say,
‘I want to see the manager.’”
William S. Burroughs,
quoted in The Times
“I amatraveller; you are on
holiday; he isatourist.”
Adage, quoted in The
Sunday Times
“It’s turning into the greatest
environmental challenge of
our age,” said Barbara Ellen
in The Observer. “How do
we transport celebrities
safely and responsibly to
global eco-summits, so that
they can doabetter job of
lecturing the rest of us
about carbon emissions?”
The problem seems to have
been particularly acute at the
super-secret “Google camp”
held at the luxury Verdura
resort in Sicily last week.
Some 300 or so activists –
reportedly including Bill Gates, Leonardo
DiCaprio, Katy Perry, Bradley Cooper and
Naomi Campbell–gathered to discuss climate
change and other global issues.Atotal of 114
private jets, along withascattering of
superyachts, ferried the guests to Sicily; on
arrival, they were transferred to the camp in
helicopters and luxury vehicles. The cherry on
the cake was the report that Prince Harry gave a
stirring speech about the environment, barefoot:
he’s been dubbed “the carbon footprince”.
Prince Harry, it seems, has becomearight
“royal eco-warrior”, said Katie Glass in The
Sunday Times. His Google speech wasn’t his
only recent bit of “green-signalling”: he also
revealed that he and Meghan won’t be having
more than two children, for the sake of the
planet. Interviewing the primatologist Jane
Goodall for September’s Vogue–edited by
his wife–hesaid they
would have two children,
“maximum”, adding: “I’ve
always thought: this place is
borrowed... we should be
able to leave something
better behind for the next
generation.” Well, he’s right,
said John Vidal in The
Guardian. Few people face
the truth that population is
aprime cause of ecological
crisis. Having one less child
will reduce your CO 2
emissions by an estimated
58 tonnesayear. By
contrast, getting rid of your car will save 2.4
tonnes. But perhaps Harry isn’t the right person
to make this point, with his “private jets to
Jamaica, the luxury safaris in Botswana, the
winter getaways in Tromsø”.
Surely that’s the whole point of celebrity causes,
said Janice Turner in The Times. “The super-
rich have learnt how to neutralise criticism of
their wealth: moral offsetting.” You can carry
on exactly as before, if you set yourself up as an
advocate. “Use your very existence to inspire!”
Adoptagood cause, and you can transform
yourself “from overprivileged parasite to living
saint”. It is “typical of the age that anyone
allying themselves with an optimistic vision is
immediately greeted with this kind of ire”, said
Zoe Williams in The Guardian. So Harry and
Megan are idealistic and haveasocial
conscience. Is that really suchabad thing?
Prince Harry: “the carbon footprince”
You’d think the Carl Beech affair
had damaged the police enough,
said Dominic Lawson in The
Sunday Times. But last week, Sir
Richard Henriques–the retired
judge charged with reviewing the
Metropolitan Police’s handling of
Beech’s lurid allegations about an
establishment paedophile ring –
made an “astonishing” statement.
He revealed that in his report, still
largely unpublished, he concluded
that police officers had actually
perverted the course of justice.
They’d searched the homes of Field
Marshal Lord Bramall and other
suspects “unlawfully”, having
obtained their warrants by tellingajudge that
Beech’s testimony was “consistent”–when he
had changed his story more than once. The
officers in charge, shockingly, have never been
held to account. In fact, they’ve “prospered”:
Steve Rodhouse, who ran the operation, now
enjoysa£175,000ayear job at the National
Crime Agency. Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Met
commissioner at the time, has been madeapeer.
It’s adisgrace that notasingle member of the
force has been brought to book, said The Daily
Telegraph. The Independent Office for Police
Conduct exonerated Rodhouse
and others without even
interviewing them. “This matter
cannot be allowed to rest.” Quite
right, said the Daily Mail. The
police are guilty of the systematic
abuse of “that most basic of
rights”–the protection of citizens
from “the arbitrary invasion of
their homes by agents of the
state”. The credibility of the Met
is at stake, and the commissioner,
Cressida Dick, needs to act. The
Henriques report–until now
heavily redacted–must be
published in full; there should also
be a“robust” independent inquiry.
The falsely accused VIPs aren’t the only victims
here, said Joan Smith on UnHerd. In the wake of
Jimmy Savile’s exposure, the police had made a
concerted attempt not to treat people reporting
rapes and sexual assaults with “outright
disbelief”. Thanks to the Beech debacle, that
process has gone into reverse: just 1.5% of rapes
reported in England and Wales last year led to a
charge or summons. Thousands of rape victims
(overwhelmingly women) are once again being
treated with undue suspicion–all because senior
officers “bet the farm” onamale fantasist.
Rodhouse: “prospered”
Statistics of the week
The birth rate in England and
Wales has dropped to its
lowest level since records
began. There were 11.1 live
births per 1,000 people last
year–down 9.9% since 2012.
Office for National Statistics
43% of British adults do not
pay income tax.
The Daily Telegraph/Institute
for Fiscal Studies
Meghan and Harry: royal eco-warriors?
Wit&
Wisdom
©E
VENING STANDARD/EYEVINE
