Nicky Campbell tells Edinburgh court teacher 'completely lost it' in 1970s attack
Broadcaster Nicky Campbell gave evidence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court that former Edinburgh Academy teacher Colin Turner attacked him as a pupil in the 1970s. Turner and David Bourne are unfit to stand trial, so a sheriff is hearing the evidence.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 1Broadcaster Nicky Campbell, 65, told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that maths teacher Colin Turner "completely lost it" and violently attacked him at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s, when Campbell was about 15. BBC NewsN “Broadcaster Nicky Campbell has told a court a maths teacher "completely lost it" and violently attacked him in the courtyard of Edinburgh Academy” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 2He was giving evidence at an examination of facts hearing, which was held on Wednesday 7 October and Thursday 8 October. Evening StandardN “Mr Campbell gave evidence during an examination of facts hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday and Thursday.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ BBC NewsN “Campbell will continue giving evidence on Thursday.” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 1Colin Turner, 92, and David Bourne, 72, both former teachers at the school, are accused of attacking pupils around the 1970s but have been deemed medically unfit to stand trial. Evening StandardN “Colin Turner, 92, and David Bourne, 72, both former teachers at the school, are accused of attacking pupils around the 1970s but they have been deemed medically unfit to stand trial.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1A sheriff is instead hearing the evidence and will decide whether there are grounds for a conviction. BBC NewsN “A sheriff will instead hear evidence in the case and determine whether there are grounds for a conviction.” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 1Campbell, a BBC Radio 5 Live presenter who attended the school from 1966 to 1978, said he was a "skinny teenage pupil" and Turner a "physically imposing" man. BBC NewsN “Campbell was a pupil at Edinburgh Academy between 1966 and 1978, from when he was aged five until he was 17.”“The BBC Radio 5 Live presenter told the court he was a "skinny teenage pupil"” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 2He said he was looking at a timetable on a noticeboard with another pupil, running late after the lunch break, when he was "yanked from behind" and then shaken, slapped and dragged across the playground, being "rag dolled". BBC NewsN “Campbell told the court he was "yanked from behind", adding: "I didn't know what was going on, didn't know who it was until I turned around and he [Turner] started hitting me.” Read at BBC News ↗ Evening StandardN “He added that he was “rag-dolled” by the teacher.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1The Evening Standard reported him saying Turner also pushed him to the floor with his foot, that it was "more than 10 seconds of terror", and that it was "one of the worst things that ever happened to me". Evening StandardN ““It was more than 10 seconds of terror,” he said.”““one of the worst things that ever happened to me”” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Campbell said that afterwards "the red mist lifted" and he and Turner sat in a common room, where he was still sobbing and told the teacher he could call the police; the teacher appeared "chastened". BBC NewsN “Campbell said immediately after the incident it was as if "the red mist lifted" and he and Turner went into a nearby common room and sat down at a table.”“the teacher appeared "chastened."” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 1He went home with a torn shirt, and his mother, seeing him distraught, called the school; he recalled "correspondence" and his mother later saying Turner had been "dealt with". BBC NewsN “Campbell said he went home with a torn shirt. He told the court his mother saw he was "distraught" and called the school.” Read at BBC News ↗
Centre · 1Asked why they did not go to police, Campbell said reporting it in the 1970s would have been the "nuclear" option. Evening StandardN “reporting the incident in the 1970s would have been the “nuclear” option.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Campbell said he first saw his school pupil file three or four weeks before the hearing and that it contained no record of the incident, calling it "ridiculously scant". BBC NewsN “Asked if there was any record of this incident in it, he replied: "No, it was ridiculously scant."” Read at BBC News ↗ Centre · 1Under questioning from Turner's defence lawyer Iain Smith, Campbell said the other pupil beside him does not remember the incident; he said that pupil was crying at the time and attributed the lack of memory to "dissociative amnesia", adding: "I'm not making it up." Evening StandardN “Under questioning from Turner’s defence lawyer Iain Smith, Mr Campbell said the pupil standing beside him at the time does not remember the incident.”““I’m not making it up, it was one of the most terrifying things that ever happened to me,” Mr Campbell said.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Both BBC News and the Evening Standard report the testimony straight, leading with Campbell's 'completely lost it' quote and the legal context of an examination of facts for two men unfit to stand trial.
- Emphasis
- BBC covers the first day's account and the pupil file; the Standard adds the defence cross-examination, the other pupil's lack of memory and the reason for not going to police.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither reports a response from Turner or Bourne beyond the defence questioning; the BBC piece does not give the defendants' ages or the cross-examination.
- Charged language
- “rag dolled”“complete frenzy”
- For example
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“Broadcaster Nicky Campbell has told a court a maths teacher "completely lost it" and violently attacked him” — BBC News
““It was a complete frenzy. I was absolutely terrified.”” — Evening Standard
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Campbell told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that Colin Turner attacked him as a pupil at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s.
- Turner and David Bourne are accused of attacking pupils but are deemed medically unfit to stand trial.
- A sheriff will decide whether there are grounds for conviction.
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre2 articles
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BBC's Nicky Campbell tells court teacher who attacked him 'completely lost it'
Neutral Straight court report of Campbell's first-day testimony, with detail on the aftermath and his school file.
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Teacher ‘completely lost it’ in school attack, Nicky Campbell tells court
Neutral Court report that adds defence questioning and Campbell's emotional description, with allegations attributed.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 7 Oct 18:54 First BBC NewsN BBC's Nicky Campbell tells court teacher who attacked him 'completely lost it'
- 8 Oct 14:35 +19h 41m Evening StandardN Teacher ‘completely lost it’ in school attack, Nicky Campbell tells court
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.