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Originally Posted by Russ
OK I understand he considered it an invasion of privacy but the police were acting on what they apparently believed was good information so surely they were only doing what happens when they raid the home/property of others suspected of crimes? OK yes it was shown on tv but has he not watched programmes like Police Camera Action etc?
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Police, Camera, Action isn't broadcast live, and the owners of the houses that get busted have their faces pixelated unless they have been convicted of a crime by the time the show airs, or have given their permission for their faces to be shown.
The police did this because in the heat of the celebrity paedophile scandal they wanted to be seen to be Doing Something, and because, I suspect, they were fishing for witnesses. Historic accusations like this are extremely difficult to prove. To succeed, a case needs multiple victims who don't know each other and have had no contact with each other to come forward independently and give statements against the suspect that show consistent patterns of offending.
Clearly, based on recent developments, the police did not have that kind of evidence, and that makes the whole house raid look like a massive fishing expedition. To televise it and name the suspect based on such flimsy evidence was outrageous and the BBC and South Yorks Police really ought to be getting their apologies and generous out-of-court settlements lined up right now.