Outrage at barrister who called Stuart Hall's crimes 'low level'
?Barbara Hewson also said aged of consent should be lowered to 13
?She described Operation Yewtree arrests as a 'grotesque spectacle'
?Claimed disgraced Stuart Hall's crimes were 'low level misdemeanors'
?NSPCC said her 'outdated and simply ill-informed' views 'beggars belief'
By Keith Gladdis and Nazia Parveen
PUBLISHED:19:03, 8 May 2013| UPDATED:00:22, 10 May 2013
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Barrister Barbara Hewson has claimed the age of consent should be lowered to 13 to protect older men in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex scandal
Stuart Hall?s sex crimes were low-level misdemeanours, a leading barrister claimed yesterday.
In comments that provoked outrage, Barbara Hewson called for the age of consent to be cut to 13 and for an end to the ?persecution of old men?.
She said Scotland Yard?s Operation Yewtree, which is investigating the crimes of Jimmy Savile and allegations against other celebrities, had ?nothing to do with justice?.
She added that ?the post-Savile witch-hunting of ageing celebs echoes the Soviet Union? and it was not difficult to see why some elderly defendants ?conclude that resistance is useless?.
Miss Hewson, who is an abortion rights specialist, said the arrests of Rolf Harris, Dave Lee Travis, Jim Davidson and Max Clifford were driven by the need to produce ?scapegoats on demand?.
But Susan Harrison, 61, who was indecently assaulted by Hall when she was 16, said it was wrong to make light of his crimes.
?To call them low-level misdemeanours is not only incredibly hurtful to all the victims it is also utterly ridiculous,? she said.
?I don?t think Miss Hewson understands what it is like to be on the receiving end of this kind of abuse from a man who is trusted by your family and by society as a whole. What he did to me went on to ruin my life and I am still dealing with the aftermath now and to call it low level is just offensive.?
Alan Collins, of Pannone Solicitors, which represents many of Savile?s and 83-year-old Hall?s victims, called her comments ?crazy? and ?ignorant?.
Hardwicke Chambers, where she is a junior barrister, expressed shock and said they were investigating.
'A grotesque spectacle': Lawyer Barbara Hewson criticised the arrests of celebrities including (clockwise from top left) Rolf Harris, Max Clifford Dave Lee Travis and Jim Davidson, in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex inquiry
Internet bloggers and Twitter users attacked her comments claiming they were ill-informed and ?victim blaming?.
In an online article in Spiked magazine, Miss Hewson had claimed that ?touching a 17-year-old?s breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one?s hand up a 16-year-old?s skirt? were not comparable to cases such as the Ealing Vicarage and Fordingbridge rapes and murders from the 1980s.
She added: ?Anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality. Ordinarily, Hall?s misdemeanours would not be prosecuted, and certainly not decades after the event.
?What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle.?
Miss Hewson, 52, who lives in a ?1million home in Islington, North London, yesterday revealed on Twitter that she had received abuse and threats online.
She said of the more offensive comments: ?So now someone wants me raped and another wants me ?hunted into obscurity? ? visceral, very nasty stuff.?
Last night she added: ?Good journalists stand by what they write and so do I. Like Voltaire, we must defend the right to express our opinions. Incidentally I have had a wave of polite emails from strangers saying how much they appreciated my article.?
In the article Miss Hewson called the NSPCC and the National Association for People Abused in Childhood ?moral crusaders? and ?do-gooders? who had infiltrated Yewtree.
She said the ?national trawl for historical victims was an open invitation to all manner of folk to reinterpret their experience of the past as one of victimisation?.
Crimes: Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree, is split into three inquiries into allegations involving deceased presenter Jimmy Savile, involving Savile and others and those involving just others
Peter Watt, director of the NSPCC helpline, said: ?These outdated and ill-informed views would be shocking to hear from anyone but to hear them from a highly experienced barrister simply beggars belief.
?Stuart Hall has pleaded guilty to abusing children as young as nine years old; we think most people would agree that crimes of this nature are incredibly serious. To minimise and trivialise the impact of these offences for victims in this way is all but denying that they have in fact suffered abuse at all.
?What she is saying does not make any sense at all. The abuse causes long-lasting damage to victims.
?To lower the age of consent would just give the green light to abusers like Stuart Hall and Jimmy Savile to carry on with their crimes.?
In a statement, Hardwicke said: ?We did not see or approve the article pre-publication and we dissociate ourselves from its content and any related views she may have expressed.?
Among the Twitter users reacting angrily to Miss Hewson?s comments was Sarah Rees who posted: ?I am guessing you don?t have any 13-year-old daughters, or children to protect. Absolutely shameful.?
Sharron Riddle said: ?Shaking my head. And my fist. UK lawyer wants age of consent to be lowered to 13 to protect dirty old men.?
this is exactly why our judicial system is in the mess its in, with judges and magistrates handing out lenient sentences for major crimes! its about time they got rid of people like hewson! i dont suppose this stupid woman has any children of her own to make such a gross statement!! disgraceful and disgusting woman!
- benp , bangkok thailand, United Kingdom, 10/5/2013 12:07
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There you go this is why the justice system is being destroyed this woman is very very dangerous if she thinks that halls behavoir is low level crime. It all starting to fit together now and what they are moving towards and that is the acceptance of paedophilia in society, this women should really be stopped from practicing law full stop a very very dangerous person who in my opinion is a great threat to the public as well as the filthy dirty monsters that prey on the innocent.
- ricey , rugeley, United Kingdom, 10/5/2013 12:04
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Scum Lawyer has she a 13 year old child I wonder
- Taff , Hereford, United Kingdom, 10/5/2013 12:03
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This woman is a disgrace. No child or person for that fact should have to put with any inappropriate behaviour, low level or not. In fact, there is no low level where sexual abuse is concerned. Sack her I say!
- Shellsbelles , ex Plymouth resident, 10/5/2013 11:54
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do some research people ....it is in committee stage in Brussels that the age of consent be lowered initially to 14 and on review to 12..........that would mean it becomes law in UK in 5 - 10 years........if you are so upset by this woman's comments then remember in time she could be the judge who sentences your teenage daughters rapist to six months..........and she is by no means the only member of the judiciary to hold these views
- Les . , wiltshire, United Kingdom, 10/5/2013 11:45
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Unbelievably stupid and ill advised and ill considered comments from a member of the Legal Fraternity. How could she have opinions like these which fly in the face of Hall's Guilty Pleas?
- FROM WHERE I SIT... , BRISBANE-AUSTRALIA, 10/5/2013 11:45
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Groping and fondling is not in the same league as rape. Why is this such a controversial comment? Reading the comments attached to this article it is apparent that many are reacting to what they think Ms Hewson has written, not to what she in fact wrote. As to lowering the age of consent to 13, not a good idea, but the average 13 year old today, come to that the average 9 year old, knows far more about sex than the average 13 old did 20 years ago because of the sex education that is thrust down their throats whether they or their parents want it or not. Whilst there is something deeply unattractive about sexual relationships between young teenagers adults (i.e. 18 or over) we presently criminalise such teenagers who have consensual sex - no doubt putting into practice all that sex education. That is a matter of concern. What this debate shows is the present national inability to conduct a reasoned and rational conversation without resorting to personal and vitriolic abuse.
- JM , Nottingham, 10/5/2013 11:35
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If you have nothing intelligent to say woman, just shut your mouth. I find people like her obnoxious.
- Only my opinion , England, 10/5/2013 11:18
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Next thing she will be a judge, God help us. How much worse does this countries legal system have to get before we have a major cull of these totally out of touch idiots.
- Mike Brit expat OAP , Khon Kaen, Thailand, 10/5/2013 11:10
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Red arrow me till the cows come home, but I do agree with some of what she says. Thirteen year old girls today are far more worldly wise about sex today than in times past. You can't compare a 13-year-old of today with a 13-year-old of 30 years ago. The degree of sexual precocity of young girls these days is off the chart in comparison. Many girls this age are already sexually active with boyfriends, sexting, taking naked selfies on their phones, etc. That being the case, I don't believe the age of consent should be lowered just to placate the sexual urges of older men. To even suggest doing that is offensive. What I do agree with is the degree of criminality of crimes such as groping and touching. To suggest having one's breast touched or having a man's hand placed on your thigh is sexual molestation on par with rape and as psychologically damaging as rape is utterly ludicrous and I simply don't believe that women's lives are ruined by these events.
- Allie , Sydney Australia, 10/5/2013 11:07
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