Steel quits party & Lords over abuse
Report said he failed to tackle paedo MP
FORMER Liberal Party leader David Steel quit the Lib Dems and the House of Lords in disgrace yesterday after an inquiry said he “turned a blind eye” to historic claims of child abuse.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused Steel of an “abdication of responsibility” in failing to confront Liberal MP and prolific sex offender Sir Cyril Smith over his abuse of children.
The report also found “ample evidence” of individual child sexual abusers linked to Westminster”, but found no evidence of an organised paedophile network.
The report did find that Smith and Tory MP Sir Peter Morrison were “known to be active in their sexual interest in children” but were protected during the 80s by their parties.
Turning to failures by institutions, the report stated: “This included failure to recognise it, turning a blind eye to it, actively shielding and protecting child sexual abusers and covering up allegations.”
Last year, Steel told the inquiry that he saw “no reason, or no locus to go back to” allegations against Smith because they related to the time before he joined the Liberals.
The inquiry was scathing about this response, saying: “This failure to recognise the risks was an abdication of responsibility, and the fact the offences were non-recent was irrelevant.”
Steel, the first Holyrood presiding officer in 1999, was suspended and investigated by the Scottish Lib Dems after his appearance before the inquiry in 2019, but was later reinstated.
Steel, 81, yesterday said he wanted to avoid “distress” for his family and “turmoil” for his party and added that he would opt for retirement from public life after 55 years in politics.
But SNP MP John Nicolson said: “It is noticeable that in his resignation statement he refuses to say sorry.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie called Smith “repugnant”, and said it was “right that David Steel has decided to resign”.
A Scottish Lib Dem spokesman said the party “takes the issue of vigilance and safeguarding seriously and constantly work to improve our party processes, including the introduction of a new complaints process”.