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The Times claims that celebrities and politicians were protected from child sex investigations because hundreds of police intelligence files were kept so secret that investigating officers could not access them. Such information was marked “secret” or “restricted” – to offset the risk of police officers or staff leaking the information to the media, according to The Times. The Independent followed this up by observing that ‘Campaigners for the victims of child sex abuse said that police had “put protecting celebrities above child protection”.’

On the showbizz celebrity side of the equation, Michael Le Vell, the actor who plays garage boss Kevin Webster in Coronation Street, will appear at Manchester Crown Court today on 19 charges of sexually abusing children. Jim Davies, the right-wing comedian, was yesterday re-arrested over fresh allegations of sexual offences. Ken Roach – also a veteran Corrie actor – apologised for being rude about abuse victims.

Leon Brittan, meanwhile, appeared in a debate defending the European Union against Dan Hannan about the EU. He lost. Nobody noticed, apart from a few of Dan’s Twitter followers. Brittan left a free man without a single stain on his character, having only lost by one one vote: he was, after all, defending the indefensible. Which is so apt, I want to cry.

If you set out to distract and deceive, it’s all about where the news appears, and how many people read it. The élite is still mining show business as the perfect distraction from political perversion, because in this, our land of Soap & Fury, it’s what most people do: watch crap on the telly, while ignoring filth going unpunished outside. This is the bit that was missing from the Murdoch Times version of paedophilia: live actors and comics are being arrested, but only dead politicians are being named.

I know that was me being a bit tabloid myself, but we continue to wait in vain for news of what’s happening with the ‘ongoing’ police investigation into Elm House in Rocks Lane. But we are no longer holding our breath.

Earlier at The Slog: Lies, doubts and obfuscation about Cyprus