Lord Tebbit hints at political cover-up in 1980s over child abuse

Ex-Thatcher minister says people's instinct was to protect 'the system' as it emerged a further 114 documents have been lost



The former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Tebbit has said he believes there "may well" have been a political cover-up over child abuse in the 1980s.

Lord Tebbit, who served in a series of ministerial posts under Margaret Thatcher, said the instinct of people at the time was to protect "the system" and not to delve too deeply into uncomfortable allegations.

His comment came as the Home Office announced a fresh legal review into what happened to a file alleging paedophile activity at Westminster in the 1980s that was handed to the then home secretary Leon (now Lord) Brittan by the Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens.

But as it emerged on Sunday that a further 114 possibly relevant files have also gone missing from government files– the government again ruled out a public inquiry into the allegations.

Michael Gove told the BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that the inquiry, to be led by a senior lawyer, would suffice, highlighting the fact that there were ongoing criminal inquiries. He said that he and the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, were also reviewwing current child protection practice to ensure that children were properly protected.

Also appearing on The Andrew Marr Show, Tebbit said: "At that time I think most people would have thought that the establishment, the system, was to be protected and if a few things had gone wrong here and there that it was more important to protect the system than to delve too far into it.

"That view, I think, was wrong then and it is spectacularly shown to be wrong because the abuses have grown."

Asked if he thought there had been a "big political cover-up" at the time, he said: "I think there may well have been. But it was almost unconscious. It was the thing that people did at that time."

The missing dossier compiled by Dickens is thought to have detailed allegations of a 1980s Westminster paedophile ring and is now known to be one of 114 potentially relevant Home Office files destroyed, lost or missing, it has emerged.

David Cameron has already ordered the Home Office permanent secretary to look into what happened to the lost dossier but the revelation that further relevant documents have disappeared will raise fresh fears of an establishment cover-up.

Simon Danczuk, the MP for Rochdale, who is calling for an overarching national inquiry into historical child abuse, said: "I had absolutely no idea these other files were also missing. The public view will be that there is something fishy going on. The public will understandably think these documents have gone missing because it helps protect the names of those identified in them. That is the conclusion that many will come to, and who could blame them"

Tom Watson, the Labour MP central to the uncovering of the phone-hacking scandal, said it was increasingly clear than only a Hillsborough-style inquiry would reassure the public. He said: "Only an overarching inquiry will get to the facts, everything else the government says or does on this is a diversion."

Dickens, who died in 1995, had told his family that the information he handed to the home secretary in 1983 and 1984 would "blow the lid off" the lives of powerful and famous child abusers, including eight well-known figures.

In a letter to Dickens at the time, Brittan suggested his information would be passed to the police, but Scotland Yard says it has no record of any investigation into the allegations. On Saturday, the Home Office made public a letter to Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, in which the department confirmed that correspondence from Dickens had not been retained and it had found "no record of specific allegations by Mr Dickens of child sex abuse by prominent public figures".

The Home Office's permanent secretary, Mark Sedwill, admitted, however, that a further 114 documents relevant to allegations of child abuse were missing from the department's records. That discovery was made last year by an independent review into information received about organised child sex abuse but was not published in its report. Sedwill told Vaz the missing documents were some of the 36,000 records which officials presumed were lost, destroyed or missing. They were not part of the 278,000 documents the Home Office destroyed as part of its "retention and destruction" policy.

However, Sedwill told Vaz in a letter published on Saturday that the department had found "no evidence of the inappropriate removal or destruction of material".

He also wrote to the prime minister to tell him he would engage a senior independent legal figure to assess whether last year's conclusions "remain sound".

Sedwill told Vaz: "Like any other citizen, I am horrified by what we have learned in the past couple of years about the systematic abuse of children and vulnerable adults by prominent public figures, and the state's failure to protect them. Some have been brought to justice, and I hope that the police investigations now under way across the country are equally successful. The Home Office has and will cooperate fully with any police inquiry."

Vaz said the number of files lost were of an "industrial scale". He told BBC Breakfast he welcomed the letter from Sedwill, adding: "We will want to pose further questions of course, because there's a lot of information that we didn't know was in existence that he's given us in this letter.

"But also I think that the government and Mr Sedwill should work with parliament in fashioning a set of terms of reference that will satisfy all those who are dissatisfied with the way in which matters have been progressed so far - so I think it's an important step which we welcome."

Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, said there had been a "veil of secrecy" over the establishment for far too long.

Appearing on Sky News's Murnaghan programme, she added: "Thank God it is coming out into the open. I think the really interesting thing about it is there has been a veil of secrecy over the establishment for far too long.

"Now the establishment who thought they were always protected … find actually they are subject to the same rigours of the law and that's right.

"What we really need to get right as well is how children are cared for today. Let's learn from the historic abuse, let's actually give victims the right to have their voice on that, but let's actually also focus on the present."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/06/child-abuse-coverup-1980s-lord-tebbit

More papers 'lost'. FGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's shocking that this hasn't been looked into in more detail before now and even today the Daily Mirror is reporting that a Minister in Tony Blair's government may have been up to no good as well.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tony-blairs-minister-accused-helping-3822224

Well, quite frankly, that's them buggered isn't it.

If you were a kid who was alone with a well known man many years ago, and you've had a crap life, you might as well go for it.

No proof required, just like Rolf and Jimmy.

Go for it BA, something nasty obviously happened to you to give you an attitude like that.

Sassy wrote:Go for it BA, something nasty obviously happened to you to give you an attitude like that.

Do you not agree Sassy?

I think at the moment, the proof required to get a conviction has been lowered somewhat.

There is a thirst for convictions - i think Tessa Jowell called for that some years ago with regards to rape??

Jeremy Vine was agreeing with listeners on radio 2 earlier saying that investigations are costly and not necessary!!..can you believe it?!!

To hell with the victims, let those involved in filth go free!!

Joy Division wrote:Jeremy Vine was agreeing with listeners on radio 2 earlier saying that investigations are costly and not necessary!!..can you believe it?!!

To hell with the victims, let those involved in filth go free!!

Yet last week he played Rolf's "just say no" video (the audio) and stopped it saying "we should have known, shouldn't we - there he is, doing it under our noses".


Errrm no Jezza, he was doing a video, probably because he was asked to.

Just because these people are famous and just because there are numerous accusations and just because some of them were set free (found not guilty) doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

Do people think these women just made this stuff up??
That a bunch of them all decided to just make stuff up about some old celebs - what for?

Bruce Forsyth hasn't been accused or mentioned. Know why?
Because he didn't ever touch one single women in a sexual way.

I believe, with some exceptions obviously, that there is no smoke without a little fire - perhaps the fire is just a candle, but it's a flame nonetheless.

If Tebbit 'knows something' then he should say it openly.

The decision to persue wrongdoing is an absolute must - if only to bring some closure to those affected and the victims. That said, I am still undecided as to the value of inprisoning octogenerians and over. Tag 'em, and name and shame them, they will live the rest of their days in utter disgrace and will rarely, if ever be seen in public again - which given most celebs adoration of fame will break their hearts and be more damaging than a comfy prison.