In the news

So, any news happening guys? Anything?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP0mQeLWCCo

Doctors are on strike, so don't lean.

I don't even leave the house these days. I'm more likely to die of some 1800s disease like "consumption" or scurvy or something.

These days every time I go to the office I end up with a cold the next day. People are disease.

I was in yesterday. Well, not the office but a hired meeting room. I think I shook one hand and did very little talking then returned, washing my hands. So far, so good. But we'll see.

I used to have the same thing when I was doing heaving training and taking Mondays off. I'd take the tube into the office then get sick. I decided to ride in on Mondays as well (easy) just to avoid the Test Tube.

Some lawyer on R4 Today was saying that because The Sun didn't name him they probably can't be sued.

There's precedent for suing based on not-named but easy to decypher though. Like if I said "one of these 10 people is a pedo and he's currently suspended" it wouldn't be hard for people to work out who's not turning up to work and I'd get sued.

I found it odd that despite the whole thing about them not wanting to divulge any info that might led to them being identified, they were constantly referred to by "he" as opposed to "they".

It was done for the person sending the pictures to the point that I just assumed they were female until it was explicitly mentioned that they were male.

A BBC journo last night said 'he' and immediately corrected themselves to 'they'. That was just as the not news was breaking, so the Beeb were clearly still trying to keep the identity totally anonymised at that stage.

The law that made it illegal for photos of under 18 year olds was only brought in in 2003 (Sexual Offences Act 2003) and isn't retrospective.

Illegal at the time or not, you’d think a respected and vocal moral arbiter like the Sun would have higher standards.

This should be the end of the The Sun right?

Unlikely. They're in tactical retreat right now, but their readership will have liked their story and I'd be very surprised if any penalty were big enough to close them down.

Was it the Sun or the Sport that had the countdown to Linsey Dawn McKenzie's 16th birthday (and accompanying pictures on her birthday)?

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66148321 - 2 days ago

"For days, two questions have been burning in relation to the allegations concerning a BBC star: do they amount to a crime, and why isn't he being named by journalists?"

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66165766 - 1 day ago (prior to statement being released identifying the person)

The individual in their early 20s was first contacted anonymously by the male presenter on a dating app.

Was definitely common before the name was released, and even explicitly so. It may well have started from the original article (I'm not giving the publication any clicks so have not read it to be fair). Just stuck out as odd.

I mean it's not like it's going to pinpoint the person in question (I don't really have a decent idea of the percentage of presenters that are male), but it stuck out to me and it didn't seem to be mentioned anywhere. Especially as it wasn't discussed in relation to the person providing the photos.

Sorry, I mis-skimmed your post and was talking about the presenter referring to the 'young person'.

Ah no worries, to be fair re-reading it it wasn't particularly clear which one I was talking either.

If someone attempted to blackmail me I'd probably get a bit sweary.

Poor Boris Johnson can’t remember the passcode for his old iPhone so can’t share his WhatsApp messages with the Covid Inquiry.

I’d suggest a combination of his children’s birthdays but that would take some time.

Phone cannot be that old not to have a fingerprint sensor.

isnt refusing to give a passcode to an encrypted device treated the same as an admission of guilt usually?

It's a separate offence under RIPA, attracting a 2 year sentence, if it relates to a request in the course of a criminal investigation. Or something along those lines.

It's one of the more delightfully illiberal to the point of authoritarian bits of legislation in the past few years.

You can even be banged up for talking to anyone about being investigated under RIPA. (unless that changed and I didn't notice)

Face ID/fingerprint sensor fall into this?

Stupid excuse - should've taken a boat trip and used the Vardy defence. Committee should march him down to the Apple Store and sit with him til they reset it.

You often need the pin when it is first turned on though.

If he’s forgotten the password then he’s forgotten his password. He was an MP so until such time as he is found to be a dishonest person he should be believed.

Who’s willing to bet it’s the same passcode as his new phone?