Shock at lawyer’s call to cut consent age to 13 and end abuse ‘witch-hunt’

 
9 May 2013

Colleagues of a leading woman barrister who called for the age of consent to be lowered to 13 in response to the Jimmy Savile sex-abuse scandal said today they were “shocked” by her remarks and strongly disagreed.

Barbara Hewson had urged an end to the “witch-hunt” against celebrities accused of sex crimes, saying the “persecution of old men” such as disgraced broadcaster Stuart Hall was a “grotesque spectacle”.

In an article for online publication Spiked, the human rights lawyer said the arrests of big names such as Rolf Harris, Dave Lee Travis, Jim Davidson and PR guru Max Clifford under Operation Yewtree was driven by a need to produce “scapegoats on demand” and having “nothing to do with justice or the public interest”.

But today Hardwicke chambers, where Ms Hewson is a junior, said: “We are shocked by the views expressed in her article in Spiked.

“We did not see or approve the article pre-publication and we completely dissociate ourselves from its content and any related views she may have expressed via social media or any other media outlets.”

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said to hear such “outdated and simply ill-informed” views from a highly experienced barrister “beggars belief”.

In the article Ms Hewson, who specialises in reproductive rights, also called for the end of anonymity for complainants. Her comments come as Scotland Yard’s three-part Operation Yewtree investigates allegations involving Savile, some about the late presenter and others and yet more regarding just others. Ms Hewson argued that “the post-Savile witch-hunting of ageing celebs echoes the Soviet Union” and said it is not difficult to see why some elderly defendants feel “that resistance is useless”.

She added: “But the low-level misdemeanours with which Stuart Hall was charged are nothing like serious crime. Ordinarily, Hall’s misdemeanours would not be prosecuted and certainly not decades after the event.

“What we have is manipulation of the criminal justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle. It’s time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or public interest.

“Instead we should focus on arming today’s youngsters with the savoir-faire and social skills to avoid drifting into compromising situations.

“As for law reform, now regrettably necessary, my recommendations are remove complainant anonymity, introduce a strict statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions and civil actions and reduce the age of consent to 13.”

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