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Steve has released a statement responding to Lord McAlpines statement.

There were lots of perpertrators, not just famous ones. This is why they need a proper investigation, not just trial by internet.

I still believe them

I meant I still believe the victims

I feel that this lord mac alpine saga is detracting from the real abuse allegations. Can we just have some truths please.

Steve Meesham has confirmed that Lord MacAlpine was not the man who abused him. He has apologised.

He was undoubtedly abused. But not by the man who has been named all over twitter etc for weeks. And the Newsnight programme did everything but name him.

Awful. Newsnight failed to name a genuine paedophile but implicated a man who had nothing to do with the abuse of Steven Meesham.

Unbelievable.

I'm more concerned about Steve Messham and how he is coping.
He must be going through hell.

The Welsh ministers seem to be determined to get the 2 reports into the public domain. Lets hope they succeed.

Steve did tweet the other day saying he needed a break I do hope he is well as can be

Steven Messham has apoligised and says it wasn't Lord McAlpine.

He said years ago the police showed him a photo of the man who abused him and they said it was Lord McAlpine. Having seen another photo now he says it wasn't Lord McAlpine.

So did the police misinform him?

That's the one deduction I can make Viva but to as for why?, I do not know.

And I don't understand why Steven Messham was reported to have told the Waterhouse enquiry the perpetrator was dead, how did he come by that information? Did he only realise Lord McA was alive when he did the interview for Newsnight last week?

It is all a huge mess.
The 'mistaken identity' thing makes sense only if he was shown a picture of a different man. Why would that happen?

Awful for him. He has behaved impeccably - apologising as soon as he realised - yet it seems unlikely that he is responsible for the mistake.

He named the man in the 90's so why havent the police corrected this now. Did they wait for Steve to be in a position where he could be totally discredited and BINGO its all a giant over reaction lets shut down all the inquiries.

There is a filmed interview of Steve Messham saying that his abuser toild him who he was.

As has been said, more hurt, more confusion, more mess, more questions. So sad.

I don't think he is discredited is he? Ithink the people naming names on twitter are.
I can't see enquiries being closed down when none of the issues have changed except for the police and Newsnight looking even more incompetent.

Did the BBC do their interview with him and release their report without showing Steve a photo and making sure who Steve was talking about?

If the mistaken identity article theory is right, he could have.

Someone on Channel 4 News actually said that if Theresa May knew what has now been revealed, would she have called an inquiry into an inquiry.

Yes. Apparently so. Perhaps having the name made them confident

If Newsnight did that, then together with pulling the Savile report, people are going to start asking what is going on at Newsnight.

I hope it'll do the opposite Mrs Crumps - surely this underlines that the initial inquiry wasn't rigorous enough? Seeing the pile of paper Sian Griffiths had on her kitchen table last night ( one sheet for each complainant)

yet only a handful of convictions.

And the list of 60 names Cllr Gregory has that people in self-help groups disclosed.

Ann Clywd was very good on Channel 4 News. She wants the Jillings report published.

They are using the victims of the most terrible crimes as some sort of pawns in a very sick and twisted power game. What the hell are newsnight playing at.
Do they not realise how vulnerable this man is.

No way did he spend years having one name in his head and then oops wrong. The name was either given to him or he has been scared off. If he named the man in the 90's then its on a piece of paper somewhere, maybe on the dining room table of someones house.