Cliff Richard

I believe a judge can make it clear in court the difference between a case where the allegation is clearly disproved i.e. the accused is not guilty and a case where there is insufficient evidence so there remains a level of doubt.

It is awful for any one to be accused of something they did not do and equally awful to be a victim and not be able to prove it so the perpetrator goes free.

If a woman chooses to have sex with several different partners it does not mean someone she does not want to have sex with can force their attention on her. If a woman 'flirts' with a man that too does not mean he can assume she wants sex with him. Men are not helpless creatures who can't help themselves! Rape is about power & control not sex, sexual assault is also often about power.

I have no doubt there are situations where too much alcohol is consumed and regrets on actions taken when drunk . But if it is not consensual but manipulated it is wrong.

Am I right in thinking the accusations against CR were made by young men?

I agree Nonnie, it has gone to the extreme, all women are victims of these sex mad men , no woman leads a man on, if they sleep around by choice they are still victims

Annie Sometimes I think the things done for equality go too far. If we could all see each other as equals but when all else is equal give priority to the minorities I am sure there would be less resentment all round.

Nonnie, I too think white heterosexual males are now getting a raw deal.

PECS That is not what I said, that is what you decided I said. I can't be in other people's minds and therefore I only see what I actually see. The point I am making, and have made several times before, is that it is unfair for one party to be named and shamed prior to proof that they have committed a crime but the person making the allegation remains unnamed whatever the outcome. Just how would you feel if someone you know was accused falsely?

We know that a number of people have made false accusations proof of which has been later discovered, I come back to that poor young chap in Croydon about a year ago, if he was a friend of yours how would you feel?

We also know that some people think something is only a wrong if one is caught. I think about the unclaimed lottery ticket in Worcester a year or two back, over 80 people claimed it was theirs!

Someone needs to defend men these days, they often get a raw deal while we strive for diversity and equality. It is quite common for grants and bursaries to exclude white heterosexual males no matter how deserving!

True not an exact science but it’s what we have so not guilty is not guilty not maybe , maybe not.

and the innocent women sexually assaulted but it not proven.. equally tough! The law is not an exact science.

Might mean? What of the innocent men who have to live with ‘might mean’

Nonnie The words in your post certainly came over to me as if you feel women jump on the bandwagon and make false allegations for a bit of fun. That may happen occasionally but more likely cases of sexual assault go unreported.

My point was that nobody should get away with malicious accusations BUT that just because an accused person is not found guilty does not mean it was a false allegation. It might just be there was insufficient evidence for a jury to be certain & so was not proven in law.

Before the court case , I doubt the BBC were flooded with calls saying filming police search through someone’s underwear drawer was unacceptable

But if the BBC don't have to fork out when they behave badly how will they ever learn? We won't even know if he takes the money, if they pay him by cheque he may never cash it. Stranger things have happened. After my son died I found a cheque from Mencap that he had won in their lottery but decided never to cash.

Well going by this thread a lot of licence payers didn't agree with his treatment, if you can call that an "outcry".

Those are some of the people that are paying his compensation.

There has been no call from licence payers complaining of the treatment of this man , now there is outcry because of money.

I agree Nonnie , I too am not a fan but what happened to this man was brutal

I think the problem with him taking the money is that it will come from us, the licence payers, who were not responsible for what happened to him.

I think he could have been satisfied with having his name cleared.

Annie there are people who simply cannot cope with someone who appears to be a good person, also those who hate anyone who has made a success of their lives through their own hard work. I have seen no evidence that CR has benefited from others, just that he deserves all he has achieved. BTW, I'm not even a fan, I can take or leave him.

Seems he has committed two crimes, wealthy and a Christian

Totally agree with you Annie. I don't boast about my charitable giving and don't admire anyone who does.

I often wonder why someone is honoured when it appears that all they have done is be successful in their career but it could well be that it is because they have been 'doing good by stealth'.

Interesting that those who have chosen to 'interpret' my views instead of reading what I actually said have not come back to comment let alone apologise!

George Michael was praised on this forum when it was disclosed, after his death, what charitable works he did, now Cliff Richard is expected to make a public announcement. I hope he doesn’t, he will be criticised for not giving to a charity some think should be benefitting .

Agree with you Annie it is to his credit that he doesn't talk about the good he does. He does it because he can not because he wants people to know. Of course he is not alone, Rod Stewart does the same and he is a totally different sort of person. Every time someone pays royalties for Maggie May (I think I have the right song) the money goes to UNICEF but he doesn't talk about it either.

stella where did I say it didn't happen in court? I didn't say that, please read what I said not what you think I said!

Everything you say also applies to the accused, his/her character is taken apart, reported in the press and bandied about all over the place. They don't even get police cooperation as was shown not long ago with that poor lad in Croydon who spent 2 years under suspicion and his life was ruined. If the police had produced the phone records as soon as they had them the poor chap would have been exonerated straight away. Are you saying that is fair? Do you think what happened to CR is fair? I don't.

A demonstration of his faith ? Why should anyone make a public demonstration of their faith ? Rubbish , Christ criticised the Pharisees for this

Nonnie I can assure you that rape survivors who go to court, are dragged through the mud by the perpetrator's lawyers . Every aspect of their character and past behaviour is brought up, and used to paint them as having "asked for it". Your suggestion that this never happens, is naive to say the least. You may not know anyone who would say that, but lawyers routinely do it in the public forum of the court room. No wonder most rape victims never go to court - the character assassination is not something that any of us would want.

PECS I think it extremely unlikely that CR will tell anyone what he has done with the money, that is not his way. He gives quietly without expecting any recognition, he is a true Christian.

Someone suggested he took the case to court for money, I really don't believe that, he doesn't need it. He simply wanted to clear his name.

Mary54 firstly I would never be so rude as to tell another poster that their opinion was "utter rubbish", we are all entitled to our opinions without being nasty.

I think your views are very outdated, I don't know anyone who would make such assumptions these days. I think you may believe that people are less intelligent than they are. People nowadays would never think that someone had 'asked for it', well certainly no one of my acquaintance.

Do you really think it is OK for people to blacken the character of someone and get off scot free? I don't.