I recently wrote about the relatively new phenomenon of cancel culture but on the flip side of that is the concept of self-sabotage. This is when someone in the public eye engages in inappropriate behaviour or has done in the past but has the arrogance and audacity to think that their misdemeanours, which are typically of a sexual nature, will never see the light of day.

Last week we witnessed the swift and ruthless sacking of BBC TV presenter and pundit Jermaine Jenas, who had been sending inappropriate texts to junior female colleagues. I say ‘ruthless’ because, as unsavoury as Jenas’s actions are, his treatment by the BBC serves as a stark contrast to the dithering that went on during the handling of the Huw Edwards scandal, whose transgressions were of a much more serious and criminal nature.

Edwards, a veteran BBC news anchor, was convicted of three charges of making indecent images of children months after he was suspended. This was steady and solid old Huw, stalwart of the BBC, who had been entrusted with the coverage of some of the most important and significant events in recent history, which in the case of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral........

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