- Presenter suggested 'young ladies' may have 'forced themselves' on stars
- Criticised by victims' groups for 'trivialising' sex offence ordeals
By Vanessa Allen
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Speaking out: Anne Diamond said young ladies often 'forced themselves onto stars'
Anne Diamond prompted outrage yesterday when she suggested ‘young ladies dressed to kill’ were at fault in sex-offence cases involving celebrities.
The former breakfast television presenter said the arrested stars faced ‘a depressing witch hunt’ and questioned the level of abuse involved in the historic allegations.
Miss Diamond said: ‘Are we dealing with misjudged slap and tickle with a groupie in a dressing room 30 years ago or a more sinister crime?Â
‘Are we talking about an annoying penchant for fumbling and groping â€" almost an accepted form of behaviour in a bygone age â€" or the cynical sexual exploitation of young girls and boys?Â
‘And what exactly is a youngster when it comes to showbusiness? I’ve seen many young “ladies†dressed to kill, hovering outside stage doors, keen to force themselves on actors and pop stars.’
Miss Diamond, who has four children, said many of the men involved in current sex-crime investigations were well-known faces who had raised fortunes for charities and been awarded honours for their fund-raising and career success.
Writing in her local magazine Berkshire Life, she said she had met many of them and felt ‘torn’ when she heard allegations against them.
Miss Diamond, who gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about media coverage of celebrities, attacked ‘the depressing witch hunt that’s seen the likes of Rolf Harris . . . Dave Lee Travis and others arrested, and their names dragged through the mire of front-page headlines’.
Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said Miss Diamond’s comments ‘trivialised’ the ordeal of victims of sex offences.
He said: ‘It is making excuses for people accused of crimes. It undermines child protection and the many victims who are still suffering from the impact of assaults and abuse.
‘It is very dangerous when people start to blur the boundaries and say something is acceptable because a girl was wearing a short skirt.
‘That never, in any circumstances, gives an adult the right to take advantage and assault someone, regardless of whether they’re a child or an adult.’
Upset: Miss Diamond said she had met many of the stars and felt 'torn' when she heard the allegations
Heyday: Anne Diamond chats to Joan Collins on the sofa of Good Morning Britain in the 1980s
Harris and Travis were questioned by Scotland Yard detectives working on Operation Yewtree in the wake of sex abuse allegations against predatory paedophile Jimmy Savile. Both deny any wrongdoing and investigations are continuing.
Miss Diamond said she was sickened by the accusations levelled against Savile after his death. She said: ‘It makes me sick just to think of what he did, but it also makes me queasy that there can never be a trial, he cannot try to defend himself, and now we write him off as one of the worst paedophiles in history.’Â
She added: ‘If you are guilty of something very bad, then you deserve it. But what if you are innocent? Or guilty of something no more serious than lecherous groping that, in a different time, could have been shrugged off?’
The naming of celebrities arrested in sex inquiries has been defended by Britain’s top police media spokesman.
Andy Trotter, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the move could encourage other potential victims of abuse to come forward.
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