Regardless of one’s opinion of Jimmy Savile, the idea that he should be stripped of his knighthood must surely strike all but the most vindictive and petty minded as being being beyond contempt. The man is dead. David Cameron might just as well force the posthumous abdication of King Henry VIII, responsible for the executions of between 60-70,000 English citizens, or of Queen Mary, also responsible for a large number of gruesome deaths though considerably fewer than her father. Certainly Oliver Cromwell’s statue should be removed from outside the House of Commons. Apart from being a regicide, he was responsible for the death and deportation of 10’s of thousands of Irish Catholics. (Cromwell was of course ‘executed posthumously’, but the favour with which he has been perceived since then is surely misplaced given the current laws affecting religious tolerance and ethnic cleansing.) And then there were those responsible for prolonging the slave trade and Lord Kitchener who introduced the world to concentration camps during the Boer War causing the deaths of “27,927 Boer civilians in concentration camps , plus an unknown number of black Africans (107,000 were interned).” . In fact the list of honoured people who have behaved dishonourably is very long indeed.
If anybody should be castigated for the recent abuse revelations, it should be the likes of that monstrous hypocrite Esther Rantzen who is surely profiting from this scandal, and countless other BBC luvvies and executives some of whom have admitted, though many more of whom would have been aware of the allegations but chose to ignore them. Members of the Whitehall committee that investigated and recommended Savile’s knighthood should be punished for gross negligence. They clearly failed in their duties. I sincerely hope that any who believe themselves to be victims of Savile’s abuse sue those who are or were responsible for suppressing the allegations or failing even to report them.
I say they should be punished because it seems that the world has already found Savile guilty and if he is guilty, then so are they. Regardless of the facts, the principle of being innocent until proven otherwise should apply to those who are dead as well as those who are living, at least as far as the government is concerned. It has no moral right to take action against the reputation or estate of a deceased individual who is unable to defend himself any more than it has the right to punish without trial a man who is still alive. Individuals can say and think what they want about Savile, but the government should stay well out of it. What the government should investigate are the shortcomings of those who are still around to re-offend. i.e Esther Rantzen and her ilk
One more thing. Let us not forget that for all the bad he may have done, Jimmy Savile did a great deal of good. He raised an immense amount of money for Stoke Mandeville and other institutions and his work brought a great deal of happiness to a lot of people. That at least has been proven and that is why he was honoured and celebrated over many years. We should not let our personal distaste (and I readily concede that the physical appearance and style of the man mad me feel uncomfortable) for an individual colour our judgement. For a community that prides itself on a lack of prejudice, the case against Jimmy Savile only goes to show just how undeserving that pride is.
The word skulk, that being the collective noun for a group of jackals, seems more appropriate than pride.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I must agree that all the hoohaa after the guy is dead seems a ludicrous waste of time and money.
I would have thought that there are no legal recourses open to anyone due to the statute of limitations. I was under the impression that the only crime for which it does not stand is murder?
Where’s JM when you need him!
Maybe they would like to disinter his corpse and drag him round town on a trestle or hang him posthumously like Cromwell? There is after all a worthy tradition of desecrating corpses!
CO: after Kublai Khan became aware that his assassinated finance minister, an Arab I believe, had been skimming gold and silver from the state treasury for years to send home to sell for a great profit he had his body dug-up and whipped. After that he left the corpse out to be eaten by wild dogs. Just thought you might find that interesting.
Chris glad to know that not only the British are savages!
I note in the media rags that the grave of Jimmy Savile is to have its new gravestone removed by order of his relatives. But evidently they are going to have real trouble disinterring him as they set him in concrete.
Perhaps they could hang the whole shebang, concrete n’all in a metal cage from some castle walls?
Isn’t it nice to know that nothing appears to have changed in the last thousand years? Humanity is quite as ghastly as ever!
Sipu I feel that I agree with your comments. However they should look at all the beeb luvies and hang them out to dry.
Mind you the wife came up with one point in that we in the UK are all guilty and implicated in this crime (if it happened) in that we all financed him and his sort by paying the beeb for a licence every year.
PS I am rather hoping the fashion for heads on pikes comes back to London Bridge.
I think the cabinet would look rather fetching arranged neatly at intervals down one side with the Olympic Committee facing them. Think of the entertainment for the commuters watching them decompose slowly, quite make commuting worthwhile!
CO and Christopher. During the Inquisition, many of those accused of heresy were tried and convicted in absentia and their effigies burned.
Rick, it is strange how many people turn a blind eye to what they know to be wrong, but come forward in their droves once somebody has cast the first stone.
Good evening, Sipu. The Metropolitan Police noless, described Saville today as “a sexual predator” with antecedents going back four decades. However, to take some of the immediacy and emotion out of the debate, would you also have left Anthony Blunt(ski) with his reputation and honours intact? And what of those who proposed him for those honours?
For the record, I can’t stand Enid Rancid either.
OZ
sipu, cowardice! The whole thing rather than being beyond contempt is beneath it!
CO: the Chinese also adopted the policy of whipping corpses and letting dogs eat them after that fact. The Japanese put people into cages and let them starve to death leaving their rotting corpses out for public view. The Tokugawa had a policy of leaving the bodies of people who committed suicide out in the open to be eaten by animals as a warning not to even try it.
As for the concrete block… Not to worry! That’s why we have jack hammers! Or we could simply hang the block from a crane and give chavs beer to break it up with hammers. That should keep them occupied for a few days at least.
I too am surprised at the outrage,Sky news is reporting that his headstone is being removed (I assume to protect it from the public) among with any other public references to Saville.
When I watched that report I was tempted to compose a post on Mob Justice.
You beat me to it.
Vigilantes? They’re everywhere
chris, thanks for the laugh of the day, must totter off, cheers y’all.
Isn’t London Bridge in Arizona, Christina?
Hi OZ, as I recall, Blunt was exposed during his life time. He at least had an opportunity to answer the charges brought against him. Stripping him of his knighthood made more sense though I am still against it. If honours are going to be handed out, then that should be that. Removing them is petty and vindictive and just goes to demonstrate the shortcomings of the system that allows them to be awarded in the first place, thereby invalidating the whole process. When the question arose concerning Jeffry Archer’s peerage and Fred Goodwin’s knighthood, I felt that it reflected worse on the powers that demanded their removal than on the individuals who committed the offences. The answer is to get it right first time and award honours to people who deserve them not those who make the ruling party of the day look good. While I am not against the honours system entirely, I think the system as it stands is deeply flawed and open to corruption and abuse. Senior honours such as knighthoods should only be awarded at the end of a career. Awarding a peerage, which means the individual is expected to attend and work in the House of Lords, needs to be considered very very carefully. Somebody who subsequently commits a crime can be banned from attending the House of Lords, but he should be allowed to retain the title.
As for the Met suddenly uncovering Savile’s crimes so long after they were committed and with Savile himself long dead, it only serves to show what a useless bunch of plebs they are; spineless and ineffective.
Hi Soutie, mob justice is a bit close to home. The necklacing continues here in Cape Town. I suspect some Sky viewers and a number of tabloid readers would be up for a bit of that and 90% of the British press would be happy to film it.
I read today (report here) that the plaque commemorating where he lived has been defaced and subsequently removed
…and that a statue of him at a leisure centre in Glasgow has also been taken down.
A spokesman for Glasgow Life, which operates the centre, said: “Given the current controversy and the seriousness of the allegations, we thought it appropriate to move the statue at this time.” BBC report here
As you know, I disagree.
sheona, yes, oops!
‘The evil that men do…’
Indeed. The people piling into this scandal, whether they be journalists, bloggers, politicians, luvvies, or your average MOCO and the gusto with which they do so, leave me with a feeling of utter disgust. Everyday I become more ashamed of my Anglo Saxon heritage.
Feel as much shame as you bloody well please, Sipu, it won’t make an iota of difference.
I shall wait until all the stones have been turned over before I decide whether the sleeping dog should lie – if you get my drift. 😉
Matt gets it right again.