Gary Glitter (78) has to go back to prison. The singer, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for child abuse in 2015, had violated probation conditions, according to media reports. Glitter was only released in February of this year. In the UK, prison sentences are generally commuted to suspended sentences halfway through.

The former pop star has now violated the suspended sentences. Incriminating video footage surfaced a few days ago. It shows Gary Glitter asking about secure search engines and ways into the dark web. The video was recorded by a roommate in a so-called bail hostel, a kind of shared accommodation for released sex offenders.

"Protecting the public is our top priority," a government spokesman said of Glitter's return to prison. "That's why we set strict release conditions, and if offenders break them, we don't hesitate to take them back into custody."

In 1997, Gary Glitter, who had a few chart hits in the 1970s, first caught the attention of the authorities. A technician discovered child pornography on a laptop that the singer sent for repairs. After serving four months in prison, the man, whose real name is Paul Gadd, fled the UK. In Vietnam, he was serving a year in prison for indecently touching a minor.

Glitter was arrested in England in 2012 as part of investigations into the child abuse scandal involving BBC presenter Jimmy Savile (1926-2011), but was released on bail. In 2015 he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for eight offenses against minors.

In the music scene, Glitter, who has never publicly shown remorse, has been persona non grata since 1997. In 2019 there was an outcry when the film used "Joker" Glitter's song "Rock and Roll Part 2" for the soundtrack.