To think that Aysha is another part of a police cover up?

[Mellowdramatically]

Why is one little boy taking up so much police time and money? And why is he being talked about so much and taking up so much news coverage? Yes it's extremely sad, but every day there are thousands of sad cases around the world that we aren't that interested in.

Lots of people can't understand why the police are going in so heavy handed.

Does anyone else think it might be to stop us talking about this?

[Mellowdramatically]

Mrs JN you are right of course I got my dates wrong about the sir cliff thing and jumped to quick conclusions. I shouldn't have posted before putting some proper research in and am off now to hang my head in shame . Thanks for putting me right

Vitals I think you are right. I think I'm unusual amongst the people I know that it annoys me when one small issue gets an inordinate amount of attention. But to try to consider the big issues is often too much and makes you feel completely helpless. The small issues are easier to think through and solve. I'm talking relatively here - of course I'm moved by Ashya's family's story I just struggle to understand how this one boy got so much attention when thousands of children around the world may have died/suffered with their own real and very tragic stories.

[Vitalstatistix]

tbh, and if I may just don my tinfoil hat here the cover up you think you see is rarely the actual cover up. The whole point of a cover up is misdirection. It's not very effective if you can see straight through it. If I were the type to think of conspiracy theories, I would be directing my attention at the child abuse allegations pointing at a long history of ministers, royals, etc having access to children and abusing them. THAT is the story that is getting pushed further and further and further out of the public consciousness.

Now, If I were a rich and powerful lizard person, and I was becoming worried that some very nasty stuff was coming out, I would be throwing others to the wolves and directing attention elsewhere.

So what you think is this child's story being used to push Rotherham out, is more likely (if we believe in conspiracy theories) to be this child's story being used to make you think Rotherham is being pushed out in order to make you completely forget that it is alleged that many, many children, in many, many care homes, over a very long period of time, have been abused by some of the richest and most powerful people in the country.

Alternatively, we could go with Occams Razor and say that there are some utter shits who have been abusing children and some incompetent arsewipes who failed to protect those children and the very good point upthread about how the girls were perceived (if they had been 'good' well spoken middle class girls with doctors or lawyers as parents, things might have been different) and the reason that the little boy is also getting a lot of coverage is that people are more drawn to the individual story than the mass event. iyswim. Can relate/empathise/be interested more in the single cat stuck up a tree than the 500 cats in a crate destined for soup. Sometimes the big stories are too much for some people to take in. So they look smaller. That's been my observation, anyway.

[MrsJossNaylor]

Mellow - I know what happened. But your argument still doesn't make sense.

"SYP told BBC they were going in just before the Rotherham report was released" - erm, not really. The journalist came to them at that point. Which he admits. They told him about the raid, but he came to them with knowledge of the investigation. Which the force had been leading for only a couple of weeks.

"The "leak" which sparked the whole thing off was weeks ago. SYP just decided on that weekend as the weekend that they would raid the house" - Cliff's house wasn't raided on a weekend. It was a Thursday morning, two weeks ago. A good fortnight or so before Alexis Jay's report was released. The two are unconnected.

Furthermore, the Rotherham case has received absolutely LOADS of press coverage. It would be the world's worst cover-up if what you're supposed to be covering up is the top item on local, regional and national news for days.

Something that is "covered up" doesn't get a prime-time Panorama programme made about it on BBC1. Nobody has "stopped talking about" Rotherham.

To suggest that SYP would deliberately engineer having two such reputationally-damaging stories in the media spotlight at the same time is nonsensical.

[Mellowdramatically]

Sorry I'll rephrase that - SYP notified BBC of the date they would raid the house. The "leak" which sparked the whole thing off was weeks ago. SYP just decided on that weekend as the weekend that they would raid the house, and they notified the BBC beforehand so that it would get prime press coverage.

[Mellowdramatically]

SYP leaked details of when they would raid Sir Cliff's house, aerial pictures of which were all over the news. SYP told BBC they were going in just before the Rotherham report was released.

[MrsJossNaylor]

Mellow, I am a "clever journalist or similar." Your theory is crackers and doesn't add up in any sense whatsoever.

I don't need to pick holes in all of it but, for starters, they searched Cliff's house before the Alexis Jay report was released, not after.

And it wasn't SYP who leaked details of the Cliff investigation, as the HASC heard today.

[Mellowdramatically]

Thanks clocks

I think there is always going to be a level of self preservation in organisations like the police. We need to accept this because they need to have the respect of the (majority of) the public. The question is, when does this become corruption? I suppose it's when it is self serving (to stay in your job) rather than public serving.

[ClockWatchingLady]

For what it's worth, I don't think you're being at all unreasonable to think that what we're provided with by mainstream media is influenced by what governments (broadly speaking) want us to focus on.

But I doubt they'd bother for the sake of these stories (which, while horrific, are probably relatively small fry to the powers that be).

[Mellowdramatically]

I'm going to sign off here anyway. I've given my twopenneth and it's obvious no-one agrees with me! I'm going to watch panorama and get back to normal life with kids back at school and very little time to watch news or mumsnet. I am not paranoid about this I think it's very feasible, but I accept that unfolding events over the coming months might prove me right or wrong.

A perhaps more unreasonable paranoia that I'm starting to feel I and I don't like is that I might start getting done for speeding when I've never been in trouble in my life -joke by the way in case someone else starts questioning my mental health. Oh the joy of mumsnet!

[YANAgurl1973]

I actually think there's more to this than we are led to believe :(

[Mellowdramatically]

I think the police have a very tough job and they do a lot of things right. They probably got it wrong in Rotherham in a big way although the ultimate blame rests with the perpetrators. Acpo need to take it on the chin and learn from the previous mistakes and do things better instead of arrogantly trying to manipulate us, which is what I suspect.

It is commonly accepted is it not that the police can affect crime statistics through directives by encouraging (or not) the reporting of crime in certain areas? Why is this so far different?

[Pagwatch]

Is a precis of your theory that police keep cocking up in order to cover up much worse cock ups?

I'm not sure it's a great idea for a over up really.

[Mellowdramatically]

I'm not sure what is needed but if they can get away with such incompetence with no consequences then it will continue to happen

[Mellowdramatically]

Very useful comment, thanks

[BeyondRepair]

I think the Yorks police are utterly rotten to the core and the whole lot need going through by independent body and probably sacking.

[Bulbasaur]

I mean this in the politest possible way, but you might want to keep an eye on that paranoia. If you start feeling anxiety about it, go see a GP immediately.

[Mellowdramatically]

Watching the news just now I'm even more convinced. I suspect releasing details of cliff Richards house search was to designed to stifle the Rotherham report (just before it came out) and that didn't work. Then Ashya. ACPO are protecting their own.

I haven't got time to thoroughly refine my conspiracy theory but I hope some clever journalist or similar will! What I am saying is

1 SY police subject to damning report
2 SY need "good day to bury bad news"

1. They leak cliff Richard news, which they've now been criticised for
   

4 Hampshire has perfect story to divert the public's attention, they just need to fuel the fire with a few arrests, house searches and attempt at extradition.

It doesn't even need cc at Hampshire to talk to cc at SY. The police stick together and helping SY helps the reputation of all police. Probably nothing bad in that, it just depends how far the power corrupts.

And I don't like feeling manipulated.

[MrsBoldon]

Edam: I have no idea how you've concluded that I thought it should have been hushed up???? I said nothing of the sort - I was commenting on the point of this thread which suggested there was a Police cover up because of the Rotherham case and why I didn't agree.

How did you get from my post that I thought the case about the young boy should have been hushed up?!.

[edamsavestheday]

MrsB, the media were asked to put out an appeal by the police. I don't know why you think they should have hushed it up!

[saltnpepa]

Yes

[GimmeMySquash]

I feel bad for the 24 hour news teams right now, juggling Ashya King, Rotherham and Cliff Richard house search police being questioned.

[MrsBoldon]

A very sick child being taken out of the country sells newspapers.

Simple as that.

Children being abused doesn't. With everything that has come out about child abuse in the last few years (particularly when you throw high profile names into the mix) I think people are getting to the stage where they're far more shocked if abuse ISN'T going on.

And large scale abuse of disadvantaged children is so vast that people struggle with the complexities of it. The accusations against major institutions including the Police and with the Rotherham case in particular, issues around culture, racism or fear of being racist etc etc.

But one kid who might be dying. ..everyone can think 'oh how awful' and everyone feels sympathy and it's very, very straightforward for the public.

[GimmeMySquash]

As I said on the other thread, at leas the Liverpool Policeman can sleep easy "nobody died" he was party to destroying the lives and possible last days of an ill 5 year old's life, of distressing his siblings and parents, hey that is ok, as long as nobody died eh!

[Applefallingfromthetree2]

Cupofsneeze-you have it in one!

[ouryve]

Many kids who have been taken out of the country when there's a reason for them not to be have police time and money devoted to them. In this case, the child has cancer and the media loves a good child with cancer story, unfortunately.