BRITAIN: The television presenter Matthew Kelly has emphatically denied allegations of sexual abuse of young boys in the 1970s. The host of ITV's Stars in Their Eyes yesterday issued his denial and declared his "complete shock and surprise" after being released on bail after questioning by police about "historic allegations" of sexual abuse against boys aged under 16.
Mr Kelly (52), who is due to answer bail at Guildford police station on March 12th, was arrested at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Wednesday night at the end of his performance as Captain Hook in the pantomime Peter Pan.
Police also arrested Mr Tam Paton (64), the former manager of the 1970s pop band The Bay City Rollers, as part of the ongoing sex abuse inquiry which led to the conviction and imprisonment of pop mogul Jonathan King. Mr Paton was released on bail last night.
King, who produced the Bay City Rollers' records, was jailed for seven years in November 2001 after he was found guilty of four indecent assaults and two serious sexual offences against boys in the 1980s.
The arrests of Mr Kelly and Mr Paton came as the pop and entertainment worlds were still reeling world from the news of Who guitarist Pete Townshend's arrest on Monday as part of the separate Operation Ore inquiry into British users of a US-based child pornography website.
One report last night suggested that police were investigating dozens of celebrities and political figures. However Surrey Police insisted its investigation was focused on specific allegations dating from the 1970s and was not part of a witch-hunt or a "wide-ranging trawl into the showbusiness world."
A spokesman said: "Two men have been arrested by Surrey police in a co-ordinated operation in connection with historic allegations of sexual abuse against boys under the age of 16 years old. The allegations relate to offences in the 1970s. They are not current offences and the allegation is not that they have been going on since then, but they relate to some specific incidents in the 1970s."
In their statement on his behalf, Mr Kelly's solicitors said the allegations against the star were not true. "Mr Kelly emphatically denies the allegation made against him which has come as a complete shock and surprise. He has co-operated fully with the police and will of course continue to do so should that be necessary. It should be noted that he has been released without charge."