Straw should explain his role in Thorpe saga

TOM MANGOLD’S brilliant BBC Panorama film exposed an Establishment plot to stop Jeremy Thorpe being jailed for hiring a hitman. This compelling story is not just a piece of human drama — it is a political scandal that merits a proper response from the authorities. One person involved in this wretched business is Jack Straw. At the time, the future Labour Foreign Secretary was a young special adviser in Harold Wilson’s government. It is alleged that Wilson wanted evidence of Thorpe’s homosexuality which could be used to undermine the Liberal leader, and that Straw examined private social security files that related to Thorpe’s gay lover, Norman Scott. If true, this was a disgraceful and disreputable operation by an ambitious young Straw. Obtaining the private records of a British citizen for political purposes has all the hallmarks of a police state. It is essential that Straw explains his full role in the Thorpe affair.