Jonathan King in Harold Shipman song rumpus

'Grossly offensive' ditty hits YouTube

Convicted paedophile Jonathan King - who served half of a seven-year sentence for abusing underage boys - has resurfaced with a provocative song about mass murderer Harold Shipman, the BBC reports.

Erstwhile pop svengali King claims the musical ditty, entitled The True Story Of Harold Shipman, is not actually about Shipman, but rather "the tendency of the media, the police and the CPS to inflate and exaggerate in order to get convictions and headlines and circulation and ratings increases".

Shipman was convicted of killing 15 of his patients, and may have murdered up to 250. He committed suicide in prison in 2004.

In his analysis of the case, in which he appears to liken Shipman's treatment at the hands of the press to his own experience of the wrath of the media, King croons: "Police will inflate and the law says it's fine to accommodate tabloids with a solid headline. But a real psycho monster who's killing for fame would leave notes for acclaim to establish his name."

He adds: "Some people will sigh when they're waiting to die. Won't you please speed it up as I'm starting to cry. There's one thing he ain't and that's saviour or saint. But a pleading complaint didn't pass him by."

Unsurprisingly, feedback on King's latest musical venture has been overwhelmingly negative. Barry Swann, whose 79-year-old mother Bessie was among Shipman's victims, said: "We're talking about a convicted paedophile here. Who would want to buy this rubbish? I just can't comprehend his point of view. It's sensationalist rubbish and he's put this out because it's easy for him to do so in his position. He obviously feels he was unfairly dealt with but to compare himself with a mass murderer is ridiculous."

Councillor Joe Kitchen, whose mother was also murdered by Shipman, slammed the song as "disgraceful", while Stalybridge and Hyde MP James Purnell described it as "grossly offensive".

The viewing public generally agrees. Among the comments posted on YouTube is one offered by a critic who admits he "thought hard what to say" and then concluded: "Shit, really shit song, no one cares about you or your sad little message, WANKER." ®

Bootnote

If you really insist, here's the video: