Weatherman Fred Talbot charged with sex offences

Former weatherman Fred Talbot faces a string of sex offence charges Photo: PA By Miranda Prynne, News Reporter

3:34PM GMT 27 Jan 2014

Former television weatherman Fred Talbot has been charged with a string of sex offences following a police investigation into claims of historic abuse during his teaching days.

The 64-year-old, who was a regular on the floating weather map in Liverpool's Albert Dock for ITV's This Morning, is accused of nine counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery.

The charges relate to the alleged sexual abuse of five men, three of whom claim they were under 16 at the time, Greater Manchester Police said.

Six counts of indecent assault involve one victim who attended a school in Newcastle.

The other offences relate to three victims who attended Altrincham Grammar School for Boys where Talbot used to teach biology

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The buggery charge also involves a former Altrincham pupil.

Talbot, of Bowdon, Altrincham, was charged after he reported to Bury police station this afternoon to answer bail.

He is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on February 11.

The veteran broadcaster is accused of committing the offences between 1968 and 1983, when he quit education to launch his television career.

All the alleged victims were aged 19 and under.

Talbot was arrested twice last year as part of the police investigation into claims he abused youngsters while working a teacher.

He was first questioned last April over allegations of indecent assault and inciting a child to commit gross indecency involving four other pupils.

He was also held on suspicion of indecent assault in relation to alleged offences carried out at schools in the North East where he was a trainee teacher in the 1960s.

He was rearrested in December after answering bail.

Nazir Afzal, chief crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "We have carefully considered all the evidence gathered by Greater Manchester Police in relation to allegations from five complainants that Fred Talbot sexually assaulted them between the 1960s and 1980s.

"Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Talbot to be charged with 10 sexual offences relating to five complainants, three of whom were under 16 years of age at the time."

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: “Fred Talbot, of Langham Road, Bowden, has been charged with nine counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery.”

It went on: “The charges relate to the sexual abuse of five victims, three of whom were under 16 at the time.”

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Veteran folk singer charged with child sex offences

By Ben Riley-Smith, and agencies

1:30PM GMT 15 Nov 2013

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A veteran folk and rock singer who has performed alongside Pink Floyd is facing charges over historic sexual offences against an under-age girl.

Roy Harper, of County Cork, Ireland, is due to appear at Hereford Magistrates' Court on Monday accused of nine sexual offences charges in total, West Mercia Police said.

A spokesman for the force said: "The summons relates to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14 and four counts of gross indecency with a girl under 14.

"The charges are in connection with offences alleged to have taken place in Herefordshire between 1975 and 1977 and relate to one victim."

The summons was issued to the musician on October 16, after he was voluntarily interviewed by police at Heathrow Airport on February 22.

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BBC presenter Paul Gambaccini arrested on suspicion of sexual offences

By Alice Philipson

8:16PM GMT 01 Nov 2013

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BBC presenter Paul Gambaccini has been arrested on suspicion of historical sexual offences under Operation Yewtree.

The Radio 2 broadcaster, 64, was held at his home in South London earlier this week by Metropolitan police before being released on bail.

The BBC confirmed his identity on their website on Friday evening after refusing to comment on his arrest for two days.

Gambaccini has denied all the allegations.

In a statement, he compared his arrest to that of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of black teenagers falsely accused of rape in the 1930s in the American South.

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He said: “On Monday night, 28 October, I attended an excellent production of the Kander and Ebb musical, the Scottsboro Boys, at the Young Vic theatre.

"It concerned a group of black men in Alabama in the 1930s who were falsely accused of sexual offences.

“Within hours, I was arrested by Operation Yewtree. Nothing had changed, except this time there was no music."

A spokesman for Gambaccini added: "Mr Gambaccini was interviewed by Operation Yewtree officers about historic allegations. He answered their questions and was co-operative. He denied all allegations."

The presenter has decided not to present his regular Saturday night radio 2 show Paul Gambaccini with America’s Greatest Hits, the BBC said.

However, up until Friday afternoon the Corporation refused to suspend the presenter, insisting he would continue to host the programme.

It was only when his identity was revealed by a national newspaper that the BBC announced Gambaccini’s decision.

A BBC spokesman said: “Paul Gambaccini has decided that, in light of today's media attention, he would rather not be on-air at present and we respect that decision. “Therefore, Paul will not be presenting on BBC Radio in coming weeks and replacement programmes for the period will be announced soon.”

The arrest is the 15th made under Operation Yewtree, which was launched in the wake of the revelations about Jimmy Savile's prolific sex abuse.

When asked about his former colleague during last year’s Panorama investigation, Gambaccini said he had heard Savile’s activities discussed in BBC music circles, but never considered notifying authorities.

He told the programme: “So what – I, a junior DJ, am supposed to get up there and say my senior is a perv? They are going to laugh at me. It never occurred to me!”

In an interview with the Telegraph earlier this year he also argued that the Savile scandal was not just “one man offending ceaselessly”.

“Paedophilia was just an exotic word. People didn’t believe it could happen. We were innocent as a society,” he said.

The Metropolitan Police has refused to name Gambaccini.

Several influential figures criticised the decision not to publicise the presenter's identity.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said it was "chilling for officers to refuse to confirm names of those detained or charged".

Tory MP Philip Davies, a member of the Commons culture committee, said people arrested on sex offence charges should be named to "encourage other potential victims to come forward".

Gambaccini, who started broadcasting for the BBC in the 1970s, was arrested along with one other person on Tuesday morning after police raided two addresses in South London.

Scotland Yard has led the Operation Yewtree probe, and separated its inquiries into those involving Savile, those involving Savile and others, and those involving others.

A police spokesman confirmed: "The man was arrested at an address in south London on suspicion of sexual offences and taken into police custody.

"He falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'others'."

Gambaccini has appeared on Radios 1, 2, 3, 4 as well as Classic FM, TV-am, GMTV and a host of documentaries.

Up until August this year he Radio 4’s music quiz Counterpoint on a Monday.

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Disgraced Stuart Hall stripped of OBE after being jailed for sex offences

However he eventually admitted 14 counts of indecent assault against girls aged between nine and 17 over a period of almost 20 years in April. A reporting ban on his pleas was lifted in May. 

In rising his jail term to 30 months, Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said his initial denials of his crimes were a "seriously aggravating" feature in the case. 

The married star's eccentric and erudite football match summaries made him a cult figure on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He also wrote a weekly sport column for the Radio Times magazine up until his arrest.

In 1999 various Members of Parliament signed a House of Commons motion, congratulating Hall on 40 years in broadcasting.

He was made an OBE in the 2012 New Year's list. 

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