He overturned the principle of innocence until proven guilty. He has questions to answer and apologies to make.
How the pendulum swung from the police not pursuing guilty Savile to pursuing innocent Proctor – and the disaster of Operation Midland.
Only yesterday, Andrew Gimson reported for this site that the party’s Deputy Leader was in deep trouble in his West Bromwich constituency.
It is not, repeat not, always right to “believe the victim” – precisely because, as in this case, the victim is sometimes not a victim at all.
He should apologise for the public panic he instilled, and leave the public arena to reflect on the unquestionable harm he has caused.