Politicians in France and Poland are facing a public backlash over their support for the self-confessed child abuser Roman Polanski (pictured below), the world-renowned film director.

Having misjudged the public mood by condemning Switzerland’s arrest of Mr Polanski on 32-year-old charges of illegal sex with a 13-year-old girl in the US, the governments are now being forced to backtrack on their calls to free him.