Clive Caines Cultural Contributor
On the face of it there’s no obvious link between footballer Paul Elliot, the late radio and television presenter Jimmy Saville and disgraced politician Chris Huhne but utter the phrase public reputation and an interesting picture emerges.
Let’s begin with former Chelsea footballer Paul Elliot CBE. Since injury forced him to give up the game Elliot has built a reputation as a visionary thanks to his outspoken comments on youth development, football’s corporate/social responsibility and diversity in football management. As would be expected from someone who held the role of Kick it Out Trustee, Elliot had much to say on racism within football.
When it recently came to light that Elliot had used the ‘N’ word in a heated text correspondence with former Charlton Athletic footballer Richard Rufus he was really left with no option but do the honourable thing and step down. Now for me it is worth taking on board press accounts of what was said in the text; as well ask how the text message ended up in the public domain. The Sun newspaper reported that the text contained the words: ‘Ur a stupid man n*****’. As well as ‘You dog. Ur history my friend.’
The N word issue echoes Spike Lee’s disagreement with Quentin Tarantino, except in this case it was used by one black person to another; I’ll leave you to make up your mind on the rights and wrongs of that. What I will say is that Elliot at least had the good grace to recognize that his words, in some ways, contradicted his actions and for that reason he needed to step down.
Paul Elliott. Photo courtesy .thesun.co.uk
The UK media have widely reported that in a statement released through Kick It Out, Elliott said: “A former friend and business colleague made public an SMS text message I sent him, in which I used a term which is widely known as being derogatory to my own community. I regret using it; it is inappropriate and not part of my everyday vocabulary. As an advocate of high standards of public behavior, and integrity in public life, I know the use of this word sends out mixed messages and contradicts my position as a Kick It Out trustee. I will continue to be active in other projects in what I believe to be a true and just cause.”
True and just cause may well have been one of the drivers of Jimmy Savillle’s success; given that above all else he was seen as the charity fundraiser supreme. Yet what has come to light after his death, allegations of child abuse going back forty years, makes you wonder if maintaining a public reputation became all too important. I say this with knowledge that it has also come to light that the police had opportunities to investigate Saville but decided not to believe his accusers given that they were underage.
What troubles about the Saville case is not that he didn’t have the same standards as Elliott, after all fessing up to child abuse is not part of the deal for a predatory paedophile, but if Jeremy Paxman’s testament, published on the BBC News website, is taken as indicative there were people close enough to Saville to have known what he was really like:
“Jeremy Paxman told a BBC inquiry into Newsnight’s axed Jimmy Saville investigation that it was “common gossip” the DJ liked “young” people. The Newsnight presenter said it was assumed they were girls, but he did not know “whether it was girls or boys”.
If the BBC wasn’t driven to take a good look at Saville based on what was being said within the organization it makes you wonder why they were prepared to ignore comments from members of the public who had complained about Saville’s behavour:
“Information which has come to light in the transcripts includes: Details of comments left on a BBC online tribute page to Saville that were removed by moderators. A transcript of the interview with ex-BBC director general George Entwistle includes reference to comments saying: “One of my best friends in 1972 was molested by this creep Saville. He was never the same again. Killed himself in 1985. How’s About That Then?”
It seems that it wasn’t just the BBC bosses who could have acted to bring Saville’s activities out into the open according to the Guardian newspaper the police were also blinded by his celebrity:
“celebrity status contributed to the police’s failure to prevent him sexually abusing hundreds of young people over five decades when they could have stopped him in the 1960s, the compiler of a highly critical report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has said… Drusilla Sharpling, from HMIC, said police appeared to be reluctant to investigate Saville because of his high public profile.”
Disgraced Chris Huhne. Photo courtesy mirror.co.uk
If you pull on the thread running through the Saville case it will reveal that his public image stopped him from being revealed for what he really was. As I understand it Saville was an extremely private person but I’m struggling to understand why in the minds of some people Saville’s persona became so iconic no one could see beyond it. If those who we expect to have a degree of objectivity, like the police, media managers or powerful politicians, could be persuaded by Saville to buy into the Saville myth then you have to wonder how many others are able to hide their misdeeds by wearing the mask of a “national treasure”.
Politicians rarely get to be considered as national treasure but many of them are obsessed by their public reputation and this is what eventually did for Chris Huhne. Yes on the face of things ending up in jail because you persuaded your wife to lie to the police and take your points for speeding does indeed seem harsh. The well of sympathy does however start to run dry when it is revealed that Huhne had many opportunities to stop things from spinning out of hand but chose to carry on lying.
While Huhne says that he was trying to protect his family when he started lying it is the admission that he wanted to protect his career that gives the story its true complexion. The words of the sentencing judge makes it clear just what Huhne had to benefit from preserving his reputation by lying when he said, “You have fallen from a great height … You had reached that height only by lying about the points.”
I cannot say that I haven’t ever told a lie but it worries me greatly that there are those in prominent positions who are cynical enough about their public reputation to use it as a cover for the misdeeds. This is especially troubling when they demand that others live to the highest standards.
