That the paedophile Hubert Chesshyre has not had his fellowship to the Society of Antiquaries revoked is an utter outrage
Hubert Chesshyre FSA FHS abused a male teenager in the 1990s, but – due to him supposedly having had a stroke and suffering from alleged dementia – he’s got away with his crimes.
Spared jail in spite of a jury finding unanimously that he committed two offences, today a number of fellows of the Society of Antiquaries wrote to the Observer to express how they are “appalled” that Chesshyre has been allowed to remain amongst its fellowship in spite of being stripped of his Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals and the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) previously.
In their missive, these decent people state:
“As fellows of the society, we are appalled by this outcome. The society’s governance structures meant that the vote had to be made in person on a weekday afternoon, and only 109 of more than 3,000 fellows were able to attend. The 76 fellows who voted against the resolution do not represent us or the values and behaviours of any organisation of which we would wish to be members.’
“We support Chesshyre’s victim, and we emphasise the absolute importance of placing survivors’ needs at the centre of any such situation. We offer our heartfelt apologies, and emphasise our determination to reform and modernise the society’s statutes and governance procedures.”
They are entirely right. Shame on the Society of Antiquaries for effectively saying up yours to victims of historic abuse by powerful monsters such as Chesshyre – someone who has counted John Bercow, Sir Donald Gosling, Sir John Hurt, Sir Paul McCartney, Lord Palumbo, Sir Terry Pratchett and Lord Sugar amongst his clients.
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