London police have confirmed the existence of CCTV footage proving that comedian Ronnie Corbett (80) was one of the chief ringleaders in student riots last week. The protests took place last Thursday as parliament approved a controversial hike in student fees. During the demonstrations, a small minority rioted, including attacking a car carrying heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his wife Camila.
Police have been studying video recordings of this incident in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. Witnesses described a man resembling Corbett at the scene, adding that it was he who smashed the window of the car carrying Charles and Camilla. The reports were initially dismissed as far-fetched, but have now been confirmed by police, who say they intend to bring the eighty-year-old comedian in for questioning. Mr Corbett has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
Ronnie Corbett came to widespread prominence in 1966 after starring in a famous sketch along with comedians John Cleese and Ronnie Barker, which parodied the British class system.
He later starred alongside Ronnie Barker in the variety show The Two Ronnies, which ran from 1971 to 1987. In recent years, Corbett has bee less active in the public arena - or so it was thought.
"What has Britain come to when one of our most renowned comedic figures partakes in this kind of disgraceful conduct?" asked The Sun newspaper yesterday. Similar sentiments have echoed across the country. Radio DJ James Whale had the harshest words for Corbett, "If it's true that he was involved, he needs to be treated like the scum that he is. I have no sympathy for him at all: beat him in the same way that he beat the royals and then kick him so hard that he realises the kind of low-life scum that he is. That's the way to deal with sub-human trash like that; it's the only way that Britain's black sheep will learn."
James Whale - not happy
