Magda Hassan Wrote:The police seem to have no trouble working together and unlimited resources when it comes to the 'War on Drugs'. Property rights always trump human rights.

Quote:North Yorkshire Police and Jimmy: How much did they know?

Corruption Buster Tim Hicks blows the whistle on the North Yorkshire SAVILE COVER-UP

In a recent article in the Sunday Express, a senior Officer of the North Yorkshire Police commented that he would be "completely staggered" if the Savile allegations did not spread north.

Inevitably, they have.

Real Whitby has already published three articles on the subject; here here and here. In summary, by collating information from open sources and obtaining information from local people, Real Whitby investigative-journalists have identified eight locations in Scarborough and one in Whitby that were associated with Savile and the paedophile-ring of influential people that he operated there for over forty years.

It would appear that four of these locations are unknown to the police. The single location in Whitby still exists and is alleged to have had a whipping-post in it.

Also, a member of the public has used the comments' section of one Real Whitby article, to provide information on an alleged male rape by Savile, in which he was assisted by others of his circle.

Given the lack of interest or support from North Yorkshire Police, this information has been passed to Operation Yewtree via the NSPCC

On Wednesday the 14th November, two of Savile's associates were arrested by Greater Manchester Police for rape; thus supporting the allegation made in Real Whitby that Savile and his entourage were involved in rape.

Since North Yorkshire Police are known to monitor Real Whitby, it seems reasonable to conclude that it is aware of our articles and the evidence we have amassed.

One would think that the existence of a room with torture equipment, in a location known to be frequented by a gang of paedophiles, would have been of interest to Whitby Police particularly as there is reason to believe that some of the people involved in these matters may still be alive and, if so, could be arrested and prosecuted. Yet North Yorkshire Police has not contacted us for assistance.

According to another Sunday Express article, ace Yorkshire investigative-journalist Mark Branagan (who broke the Scarborough Borough Council corrupt procurement fiasco involving the High-Point-Rendel sea-defence contract in 2005), has confirmed that North Yorkshire Police have not even searched Savile's apartment in Wessex Court, Scarborough.

Yet Strathclyde Police consider his house in Glencoe is a key crime scene in their investigation into offences committed there! Why can't the good people of Scarborough rely on the same high standards of investigation as those of Strathclyde?

This lack of any North Yorkshire Police investigation or interest in the Savile case is perplexing and deeply concerning, particularly considering the high profile of the case and the local impact.

On the 10th and 11th of October, two victims came forward to report serious sexual abuses by Savile in the late-'60s and late-80s, respectively.

Yet an article in the Daily Express on the 24th of October states:

"Yesterday North Yorkshire Police insisted they had no record of an investigation into the star."

On the 31st of October, a statement published by North Yorkshire Police on its website read:

"When the allegations surrounding Jimmy Savile were publicised, we carried out extensive searches of force records which did not reveal a local connection. However, following the coverage, two women came forward about alleged offences committed by Savile that occurred in Scarborough in the the late 60s and late 80s."

Clearly, North Yorkshire Police are denying all knowledge of the paedophile-ring that Savile and his high-profile associates (including his worship the Mayor of Scarborough, Councillor Peter Jaconelli) collectively known as The Club' are alleged to have run for over forty years in Scarborough and Whitby.

Curiously, the link to North Yorkshire Police website on which the statement "we carried out extensive searches of force records which did not reveal a local connection" has been revised and now declares only that two women have now come forward to make allegations.

The denial that North Yorkshire Police were aware of any local connection has been completely removed!

What can be the explanation for this apparent about-face by North Yorkshire Police?

The Real Whitby investigative-journalists have constantly maintained that it must have been impossible for the North Yorkshire Police in Scarborough or Whitby to have been unaware' of Savile's activities, or those of the other high-profile members of his paedophile-ring.

The Express has arrived at the same conclusion, running not one but two articles alleging that North Yorkshire Police knew that Savile was targetting under-age girls for sex, and stating that during a major paedophile investigation in Scarborough in 2003, members of the public were questioned by Scarborough Police about Jimmy Savile's involvement in it.

I do not agree with speculation, but it would therefore appear to me that the only conceivable reason the above statement exonerating North Yorkshire Police of any knowledge of the Savile ring (or "club" as it was apparently known in Whitby) has been removed, is because they fear it may no longer be tenable in the light of comments by the Express and Real Whitby, and, in fact, force records did reveal a local connection, which the police ignored.

I have asked North Yorkshire Police for an explanation but they have not responded.

The Daily Mail and The Times have recently run must-read' articles alleging that Savile had extensive social contacts with the Police and met with them regularly; their social group was also known as a "club". Savile is also alleged to have routinely bribed Police Officers and to have used a policeman as his bodyguard, a practice strictly prohibited by Police disciplinary rules, but which was nevertheless permitted.

These allegations concern West Yorkshire Police and other forces, not North Yorkshire Police. However, it is clearly a concern that this was obviously part of his modus operandii to evade Police action and it is not impossible that he employed it equally successfully wherever he committed offences.

It certainly seems strange that if indeed "senior police officers investigating a suspected paedophile ring operating around seafront arcades in Scarborough in the 1980s had concerns that Jimmy Savile may have been involved. Although his name was repeatedly mentioned to the 2003 investigation team, Savile was never quizzed over targeting under-age girls for sex between 1982 and 1986".

It is also strange that no-one from the North Yorkshire Police said anything two years later, in 2005, when the proposal that Savile should receive the accolade of being appointed Honorary Freedom of the Borough of Scarborough proceeded through Council without impediment particularly as Councillor Tom Fox had been the Acting Chief Inspector running Scarborough Police until his retirement and in fact actually presided over the awarding of this accolade in his new rôle as Councillor and Leader of Scarborough Borough Council.

Why would that be?

I think we should be told.

The Death of Satire? The Mail's David Rose complains about being smeared

(not satire it's the Mail!)
Amazingly, Mail on Sunday hack David Rose has written a whining article in the Mail complaining about being accused of spreading disinformation, lies and spin. Here it is (warning link to the Mail):
MoS reporter is a secret paedophile in the pay of MI5! Just one of the lies peddled about me on the web
This was in response to several articles by various bloggers attacking him after he did a highly-libellous and defamatory hatchet job in the Mail on child abuse victim Steven Messham.
Several bloggers including me - pointed out Mr Rose's dodgy past as an establishment fixer' who has been deeply involved in anti-global warming propaganda as well as government lies about weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq war.
What's that, you say? A hack in the Mail complaining about people spreading defamatory lies about him?
Oh the irony.
Here's my article he was responding to by the way, if you haven't already seen it:
Child abuse scandal can of worms just who is Daily Mail reporter David Rose?
As you can see, in my article I didn't accuse him of being a lizard or a member of MI5 (more about MI5 later) but he directly quotes me often in his article and even threatens to sue bloggers like me for libel and defamation.
Now remind me. What's the definition of a coward and a bully?
Well, let's see, how about this?
Someone with power and influence who mercilessly attacks defenceless people but then whines loudly about how unfair it is when attacked himself?
Don't cry after I said that, David, because I can see after reading your article that you're the sensitive type who doesn't like people saying horrid things about you.
Which is strange really, considering you yourself like nothing better than to viciously dish it out to other defenceless people who don't have the means to defend themselves - for example child abuse victim Steven Messham while you cower beneath the powerful wings of Lord Rothermere, the owner of the Mail.
Lord Rothermere is a rich and powerful man and his family have some very, very powerful friends. Here's the current Chairman of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc's grandfather with one of his close friends from a few years ago:

Don't worry folks, Rothermere can't sue me for pointing out that his newspaper and his family supported the fascist Blackshirts and Hitler because it's true:
Oops! The Daily Mail accidentally supports a fascist party. Again.
But back to Rose. The other bizarre thing about his strange article is his threat to sue anyone who accuses him of being connected to MI5. It's bizarre because Rose himself has admitted he was once a conduit for misinformation from MI5.
See his own article in the New Statesman here:
Spies and their lies by David Rose
So Rose is threatening to sue people for saying something about him he has already admitted to?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that that should make an interesting case.
Oh David you can't see this but I promise you I'm actually on my knees right now while I'm writing this.
Please please please sue me.
Because I would just love to see you and the Mail trying desperately to prove in court that you have never engaged in spin, disinformation and downright lies.
Now that would be a sight worth seeing, wouldn't it?
http://tompride.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/the-death-of-satire-the-mails-david-rose-complains-about-being-smeared/

Quote:Chilling claims that Cyril Smith child abuse scandal was concealed to avoid crisis at Westminster

By Andrew Malone and Jaya Narain

PUBLISHED:22:14, 23 November 2012| UPDATED:22:16, 23 November 2012

Nightmare: Victims have been haunted to their graves after suffering alleged abuse at the hands of the deceased Smith

For a monthly newspaper published from a cellar by two idealistic young college lecturers, the scoop on the front page of the tiny Rochdale Alternative Press in May 1979 was truly sensational.

Known as RAP, the newspaper, which cost nine pence and was distributed by volunteers in pubs, devoted its entire cover to a story headlined: Strange Case of Smith the Man. Inside, across two pages, the report detailed in harrowing, graphic terms the systematic sexual abuse of young boys at a children's home set up by local dignitaries and funded by the Lancashire town's Rotary Club. But what really created a stir was the man identified as the chief paedophile: Cyril Smith.

Elected as the local Liberal MP in 1972, a position he held for the next 20 years, the 29-stone 50-year-old was as famous for his weight as his political views.

A regular on the chat-show circuit of the time, he even appeared with Jimmy Savile, the now disgraced BBC disc jockey, on a celebrity edition of the DJ's TV programme Clunk Click. Smith died from cancer two years ago but remains, officially, the fattest man ever to be an MP.

Known nationally as Big Cyril', the unmarried politician had first come to prominence when he bizarrely named his mum as First Lady of Rochdale after he became mayor in 1966, saying he wanted to thank her' for everything.

He later explained that he was a lifelong bachelor because politics meant he hadn't had a lot of time for courting women'.

The politician's predilection for young boys, however, was already the stuff of gossip and jokes in pubs around Rochdale, a close-knit community where secrets did not remain secret for long.

The investigation published in the Rochdale Alternative Press grew out of saloon-bar chat at the Golden Ball, the local pub used for meetings by David Bartlett and John Walker, joint editors of the alternative newspaper, which was printed from a cellar in Bartlett's home.

With rumours circulating about Smith and young boys for years, and the MP standing for election under the strange banner I am the Man', the pair had decided to see whether there was credible evidence to back up such allegations. There was.

After interviews with staff and former residents of the children's home, and senior police officers aware of the allegations, at the end of a six-month investigation the newspaper had discovered nine victims willing to talk, and had four signed affidavits.

With the backing of a prominent lawyer in London, who studied the evidence, the tiny newspaper published its damning conclusions, revealing how the local MP liked to carry out perverted medical examinations' of young boys in the care home and fondle them inappropriately.

So what was the reaction to this extraordinary allegation? At first, there was mayhem. Other newspapers and television crews descended on Rochdale, buying up copies of the newspaper. Bartlett and Walker were interviewed. Photographs were taken.

But then Smith, a famous, powerful figure, swiftly announced that he was taking out an injunction against RAP and backed up the threat by claiming he was also suing for libel. Private Eye published a follow-up story repeating the allegations but that was it.

It was a gagging action [on Smith's part] to prevent anyone else writing about this,' David Bartlett, now 74 and living in retirement on the Isle of Wight, told me this week.
Smith never did sue. He increased his majority at the next election. The whole thing died down and just faded away.'

Now, more than three decades later, the same claims about Big Cyril are finally being made at the highest level. With fresh impetus to uncover sexual abuse following the Savile scandal, police this week revealed that they have launched an investigation into the allegations.

This development came after Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, raised the matter in the House of Commons after victims contacted him to tell their stories. He described Smith as a 29st bully who imposed himself on his victims, leaving them humiliated, terrified and reduced to quivering wrecks'.

If what the MP says is true, why were Smith's victims ignored for so long? Did someone cover up for Smith, and if so, could he have been protected by figures in the government of the day?

The question we must now consider is this: was Smith's depravity indeed known about at the very highest levels of the Establishment, including the security services and the plight of his victims ignored on the grounds of political expediency' at a time when he was key to a weak Labour government's relationship with the Liberals?

Raised by his mother, along with a brother and sister, in a two-room house, Cyril Smith had, apart from a brief spell working for the tax office, been involved in local politics for much of his life.

In 1962, aged 34, he began taking a keen interest in youth matters in Rochdale sitting on committees in charge of the Rochdale Youth Theatre, the Rochdale Youth Orchestra, the Youth Employment Committee, as well as the governorship of 29 local schools.

As well as these duties, Smith also directed his energies into setting up a hostel for boys from deprived families in Rochdale, approaching poor parents and explaining that their child would be better off in care.

Funded with council cash, as well as donations from prominent businessmen and the local Rotary club, Cambridge House opened in 1962. Crucially, Smith kept his own set of keys for the hostel, meaning that he could come and go as he pleased.

Barry Fitton was a 15-year-old resident when he first had the misfortune to encounter Smith. Fitton was placed in the home because he was from a disadvantaged background the son of a single mother and had problems at school.

Everybody knew Cyril Smith,' he told me. He was very famous in Rochdale he was very involved in things concerning young kids, boys' clubs and things like that.'

Fitton says he was sexually abused a number of times by Smith. I was embarrassed, of course,' he says. I felt this was not right, but what could I do? He was an authority figure and I had to do what he said. He was such an important guy, and I was 15 and scared to death.'

Once, he was told he was to have a medical examination at Cambridge House. I thought it would be a doctor, but it was Cyril Smith. He told me to take my pants down and he started to fondle me. I thought it was odd and not right, but as far as I was concerned, he was completely powerful.'

Other victims have also come forward, describing almost identical abuse, as well as spanking' sessions when the gargantuan Smith would arrive to discipline boys accused of breaking rules and then comfort' them after physically abusing them. When he discovered that Barry Fitton had gone one day to hang around in Manchester, Smith summoned him to his office at the home for punishment, ordering the teenager to take his trousers down and bend over his knee. He then hit the boy.

He was big and heavy. You'll have seen the size of his hands in pictures. Imagine how that would feel slapping you around,' added Mr Fitton, now in his mid-60s and living in Amsterdam. I was crying and he said "oh, there, there" and he stroked my bottom and fondled my buttocks.

There are still people in Rochdale who don't believe that Cyril Smith was capable of doing these things. I think it should be brought out into the open, not just for my peace of mind but for other people's peace of mind.'

So why did this not come out at the time? Our investigation has established that there were at least three separate police investigations into Smith he became Sir Cyril after being knighted by the Queen in 1988 for public services during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

We can also reveal that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions also sought outside opinion from a prominent barrister over whether charges should be brought in the 1970s. The barrister advised that there were sufficient grounds for prosecution. But the DPP still refused to act. Could the Home Office have blocked the charges?

But the biggest issue of all is this: If there was a conspiracy that allowed Smith to evade justice, was it founded on the cynical political calculations of the day?

Scandal: A plaque erected in Smith's honour in Rochdale has been removed in the wake of the allegations due to fears over vandalism

For the fact is that throughout the years that his perversions were investigated by police, from 1974 until 1979, first the Conservatives and then Labour wooed Smith's Liberal Party.

The first General Election of 1974, in February, saw Labour win the most seats, but no overall majority. The Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath, opened negotiations with Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe about forming a coalition government. Thorpe was himself the subject of squalid rumours that would culminate in his trial for the attempted murder of his homosexual lover (he was later acquitted).

When the Heath-Thorpe talks broke down, Labour's Harold Wilson formed a minority government.
Although Wilson was returned with a slender majority in an election eight months later, that soon collapsed and in 1977 his successor, Jim Callaghan, and Thorpe's replacement, David Steel, forged a Lib-Lab pact.

Wilson was aware of the scandal around Thorpe long before his trial shortly in 1979, and had asked Special Branch to keep him informed.

Any decision to prosecute Cyril Smith over allegations of homosexual child abuse could have proved just as devastating to Labour as to the Liberals. The question of who ran the country so finely balanced because of the lack of a large majority was at stake.

Throughout these years, Smith, popular throughout the land on account of his bluff Northern manner, was even touted as a government minister, and had served as his party's chief whip.

According to police and legal sources with knowledge of these historic investigations, there was little appetite in Westminster for a high-profile trial.

The source says: With the Jeremy Thorpe scandal hanging over the political scene, it may have been politically expedient to sit on the matter. It appears Sir Cyril's influence politically was just too great, and the issue was quashed.'

Secrets: Claims are rife that the Cyril Smith abuse scandal was covered up

This would explain one of the murkiest episodes of all in the Smith scandal: the removal by MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence wing, of police files containing reams of documents and sworn statements from victims of the MP.

In what serving officers of the time believed was part of a sinister cover-up, these police files thick' with allegations from boys abused by Smith were seized by MI5 and have never been seen since.

According to Tony Robinson, an officer with Lancashire Police in the 1970s, the files disappeared after an MI5 agent told him they needed to be sent to intelligence officials in London. After being taken out of the safe at Special Branch headquarters in Preston for despatch to the capital, the files vanished.

I looked through Sir Cyril's file, which was kept in a safe in our office,' he told a newspaper last week. It was full of statements from young boys alleging abuse. It had been prepared for prosecution. Written across the top of it were the words: "No further action, not in the public interest. DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions]."'

To add to the stench of a cover-up, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), having initially claimed to have no knowledge' of any police investigation, admitted this week that it had now unearthed' its own file about allegations against Smith from as long ago as the 1960s.

Simon Danczuk MP told the Mail yesterday: I am absolutely convinced there was a cover-up of Smith's abuse. The question now is why, and why are ministers refusing to answer questions about police files full of allegations of abuse that were seized by Special Branch and buried?

Smith set a tone in Rochdale that made people like him think they could get away with this stuff, and I've no doubt that he was emboldened to carry on abusing children, all the time thinking that he was above the law.

The daughter of a victim who's now passed away has told us her father went to his grave angry and ashamed about Smith having abused him.'

Despite persistent inquiries by the Mail over the past fortnight, the CPS has repeatedly refused to say who took the decision not to prosecute the MP, and why. Officials have also refused to answer any questions about specific allegations against the MP, or whether they will be made public.

The truth is that, as in the Savile case, the authorities seem to have been woefully reluctant to prosecute a high-profile figure, despite investigating the steady swirl of allegations against him.

And many of those involved in the case police, victims, lawyers believe the orders not to press charges came from the top, with Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan, Labour Prime Ministers during different parts of the police probe, being involved in signing off decisions not to press ahead with charges so as not to upset their Liberal allies.

Recent events prove that such allegations must be treated with all due caution which is why the contents of those police files take on such great significance.
So where are the police documents now? Nobody knows yet.

But what is certain is that, if there was an Establishment cover-up on behalf of Big Cyril, it is slowly but surely starting to unravel.

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:OK - the following article claims that Savile was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE).

The sources are not disclosed. However, I'm sure the membership list is a highly guarded secret.

If it's true that Savile was a member of PIE, then his crimes have been known for decades.

The PIE membership list would have been known to Special Branch and to British intelligence, and presumably also to the BBC's Man in the Mac, the SIS liaison.

Quote:Savile member of the Paedophile Information Exchange an Organisation which campaigned for the abolition of the age of consent in the UK

October 18, 2012


NEWS RELEASE

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is embroiled in a child sex scandal centred on Jimmy Savile, its anchorman on many popular entertainment shows for over thirty years. Now new information is surfacing which indicates that Jimmy Savile was a fully paid up member of the Paedophile Information Exchange (P.I.E) - an organisation which campaigned for the abolition of the age of consent in the UK.

The letter below has been sent to Lord Patten, Chairman of the BBC Trust. In it I have stated "I am placing this information before you in this open letter as I feel that the BBC should now initiate a full investigation into these reports suggesting that during the 1970's and early 1980's the BBC's editorial policy was influenced in favour of P.I.E. This alleged infiltration of the BBC by P.I.E might also explain how Savile was able to operate as a sexual predator during his extended tenure at the BBC without challenge and/or prosecution."

I will pursue my objective of securing a full investigation into the alleged membership of Jimmy Savile of the organisation, P.I.E. I will also continue to seek a full and open investigation of the influence, if any, that P.I.E exerted on BBC editorial policy during the 1970′s and 1980′s. I also expect the authorities to investigate whether any BBC employees were members of P.I.E or expressed sympathy and support for the aims and objectives of P.I.E.

Further links are set out at the bottom of this email.

MICHAEL .H. MURRIN

21 GOODWOOD AVENUE. PRESTON. PR2 9TZ

TELE: 0795 142 6617

murrin@hotmail.co.uk

Lord Patten
Chairman
The British Broadcasting Association Trust
The BBC Trust Unit
180 Great Portland Street
London
W1W 5QZ

12th October 2012.

Dear Lord Patten,

RE: BBC / Jimmy Savile.

This is an open letter, i.e. I do not regard it as confidential and reserve the right to publish it. There are some parts of it in italics, these sections I do regard as confidential and, as such, they will not be published.

During 1982 I initiated an investigation into corruption in public life which resulted in the criminal prosecution of some high profile figures for offences against children, including serial child rape.

PARAGRAPH DELETED.

I turn now to the reason for my writing to you at this point.

My investigation led me to the fringes of the Paedophile Information Exchange (P.I.E), an organisation whose history is a matter of public record. The organisation was founded during October 1974 and officially disbanded during 1984. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paedophile_Information_Exchange

Due to a lack of financial support my investigation into PIE was severely limited although I did secure two names on the membership list of the organisation, one was Jimmy Savile. One of the key aims of the organisation was to secure a reduction of the age of consent in the UK to FIVE and then abolish it altogether. The organisation secured significant support within parliament, the entertainment industry, the media and similar, professional, organisations. It was reported that, when the organisation was finally closed down, the membership list was found to contain the names of nationally known politicians, entertainers and people engaged in professions, including the medical and legal profession. Some teachers were, I believe, also found to be registered members. The quality and influential nature of its membership and the extent of support for the aims of the organisation among opinion formers' probably explains how it managed to remain in existence in this country for a decade before it was finally closed down. My investigations did clearly indicate that the tentacles of P.I.E extended deep into the establishment including the BBC and Parliament.

This quote from the book Paedophilia The Radical Case (Chapter 11) gives an indication of just how far the tentacles of P.I.E had spread and how influential the organisation had become.

"One outcome of the MIND conference was the suggestion to Keith that PIE should submit evidence to the Home Office Criminal Law Revision Committee on the age of consent. With amazing despatch Keith did exactly this, preparing and submitting the seventeen-page document discussed in Chapter 6 in a matter of weeks, without the benefit of research time or facilities at his disposal. What's more, we have it on reliable authority that his work caught the imagination of no less a figure than the Home Secretary of the time, Roy Jenkins."

The source who notified me that Savile was a fully paid up member of the organisation is extremely reliable. Other sources implied that Savile's membership of P.I.E was known to others within the BBC who were either sympathetic to its objectives or were members themselves. This might explain why there appeared to be no effective pursuit of the organisation by BBC sponsored current affairs and investigative programmes during that period of P.I.E's existence.

I am placing this information before you in this open letter (except for the parts in ITALICS) as I feel that the BBC should now initiate a full investigation into theses reports suggesting that during the 1970's and early 1980's the BBC's editorial policy was influenced in favour of P.I.E. This alleged infiltration of the BBC by P.I.E might also explain how Savile was able to operate as a sexual predator during his extended tenure at the BBC without challenge and/or prosecution.

It has been reported that Savile was responsible for the sexual assault of a brain damaged child at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. It has been stated "it can get no lower than this." I beg to differ. My understanding is that the archive at New Scotland Yard hold an image of the youngest child recorded as being sexually abused, the child was female and was still attached to its mother by the umbilical cord. Perhaps there is some way to go before we reach the bottom of this "cesspit?"

I do expect and formal and comprehensive response from you within a reasonable time period. A copy of this letter has been forward to The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mr Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Yours sincerely,

Michael H. Murrin

Quote:BREAKING NEWS: MP Cyril Smith DID abuse young boys in the 1960s and would face charges if he was still alive, police say (so why wasn't he prosecuted at the time?)

Sir Cyril allegedly sexually and physically abused teenage boys under the guise of medical examinations or punishment for misbehaviour
Police say former Liberal MP would be prosecuted if accused today
Smith was secretary of boys' hostel where he was accused of abusing vulnerable youngsters by spanking and touching them from the 1970s

By Larisa Brown

PUBLISHED: 18:20, 27 November 2012 | UPDATED: 19:21, 27 November 2012

Daily Mail


Former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith sexually and physically abused young boys in the 1960s, police admitted today

Sir Cyril, who weighed up to 29 stone and who was elected to Parliament in 1972, was dogged by rumours of abuse throughout his career but charges were never brought against him.

Both Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said if Smith had been accused today he would be charged and prosecuted.

A GMP spokesman said: 'The Force is now publicly acknowledging that young boys were victims of physical and sexual abuse committed by Smith.

'Three separate files regarding Sir Cyril Smith's actions were passed to first the director of public prosecutions (DPP) and the Crown Prosecution Service although on each occasion no prosecution was pursued.'

Smith was secretary of the Rochdale Hostel for Boys Association, where he was accused of abusing vulnerable youngsters by spanking and touching them.

GMP has been looking at cases which date back to 1974 - when the force was created - and any before that were investigated by Lancashire Police, who previously covered Rochdale.

Smith, who died in 2010, served as a politician for 20 years before retiring.


Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said although the police had made a 'bold' decision in saying Smith abused young boys, there was 'overwhelming evidence' against him.

He said: 'This has been a very complex inquiry and I hope people understand why it has taken some time before we were in a position to comment publicly.
Both Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said if Smith, right, had been accused today he would be charged and prosecuted

'It was very important that both ourselves and Lancashire Police examined all our records very carefully so we could be certain what involvement we had in investigating allegations of sexual and physical abuse made against such a high-profile figure as Smith.

'We are now in a position to say that on three separate occasions, files were passed to first the DPP and then the CPS containing details of abuse committed by Smith, but on each occasion no prosecution was pursued.

'Having now reviewed those decisions, we believe that if the same evidence was presented to the CPS today there would have been a very realistic prospect that Smith would have been charged with a number of indecent assaults, and that the case would have been brought to trial.

'Clearly that is a bold statement to make but it is absolutely important for those victims who were abused by Smith that we publicly acknowledge the suffering they endured.

'Although Smith cannot be charged or convicted posthumously, from the overwhelming evidence we have it is right and proper we should publicly recognise that young boys were sexually and physically abused and we will offer them as much support as they need should they wish to speak to us.'

The first file of evidence dates back to March 1970, some 16-years before the Crown Prosecution Service was formed.

The file, from Lancashire Constabulary, contained allegations made by eight men that they had been subjected to indecent assaults by Sir Cyril as teenagers.

The alleged abuses were conducted under the guise of medical examinations or punishment for misbehaviour, the report read.

All the boys were either living at Cambridge House Children's Home in Rochdale or were dependent on Smith for either employment, financial support or 'some sort of guardianship'.

Smith denied the allegations.

Although 80 pages of evidence were submitted to the Director of Public Prosectuions (DPP) office, the decision not to prosecute was written in a one page letter.

It read: 'Any charges of indecent assault founded on these allegations, as well as being somewhat stale, would be, in my view, completely without corroboration. Further, the characters of some of these young men would be likely to render their evidence suspect.

'In the circumstances, I do not consider that if proceedings for indecent assault were to be taken against Smith, there would be a reasonable prospect of a conviction. I do not, therefore, advise his prosecution.'

The second file contains evidence dating back to April 1997, when South Wales police began an investigation into sexual and physical abuse within care homes in Wales.

One man rang a helpline which had been appealing for potential victims to come forward, alleging he was abused by Sir Cyril at Cambridge House Children's Home between 1965 and 1968.

The allegation was passed to Greater Manchester Police, who submitted a file of evidence which also included the 1970 file, to the Crown Prosecution Service in May 1998.

A lawyer who reviewed the case said there was enough evidence to charge but that prosecution should not proceed.

The main reason was that Sir Smith had been told he would not be charged for the alleged offences 28 years previously and that charging decisions could only be reversed in 'very limited circumstances', namely 'new evidence coming to light'.

In 1999 two further complainants came forward who made allegations of indecent assault against Smith.

The same lawyer who provided advice in 1998 concluded that one alleged assault was not a criminal offence and other case had been weakened by the complaint's failure to inform the police earlier and there was insufficient evidence.

The reviewing lawyer also concluded: 'I am satisfied that there is no new evidence which would alter my view as to whether proceedings should be instituted in respect of the eight original complainants.'

The CPS have concluded that the decision made in 1970 would not be made by the CPS today.

Earlier this month Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk told the Commons during a debate that Sir Cyril used to summon boys from the town's Cambridge House hostel and slap their naked bottoms.

'Young boys were humiliated, terrified and reduced to quivering wrecks by a 29st bully imposing himself on them,' he said.

He had seen statements given to Lancashire Police in the late 1960s, which made 'grim reading'.

'For some unknown reason, Cyril Smith had a kind of disciplinarian role at the hostel and was given free rein to administer punishment to the boys,' he added.

He said one of the boys told police: 'He told me to take my trousers and pants down and bend over his knee. He hit me many times with his bare hands and I pleaded with him to stop because he was hurting me.'

Mr Danczuk said he believed the file had been passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, but no action was taken, and called for a new police investigation.

Quote:Menshn co-founder Luke Bozier held over indecent images of children

Former business partner of ex-Tory MP Louise Mensch arrested and bailed on suspicion of viewing or possessing the images

Josh Halliday

guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 December 2012 11.45 GMT

Luke Bozier, the former business partner of ex-Tory MP Louise Mensch, has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of viewing or possessing indecent images of children.

Bozier, 27, was arrested at 1pm on Friday at a central London police station and released on bail until a date in early February.

He was questioned by Metropolitan police detectives on suspicion of viewing or possessing indecent images of children and released on bail later on Friday.

Reports published last week alleged that Bozier used an online alias to access a number of websites offering explicit photographs.

Bozier helped launch Mensch's social network, Menshn, in June but last week resigned from their company, MenschBozier Ltd.

Mensch said she had reported the allegations to the Met police.

"He resigned from the company and will not have a share in it," she told the Guardian. "It is with police now."

A former e-campaigns manager for Tony Blair, Bozier is a self-described "entrepreneur, politico and social commentator". He is the co-founder of two technology start-up companies, Menshn, and the online PR platform, Municipo.

He had not responded to requests for comment by email or phone at the time of publication.