Peer quits as report into abuse condemns inaction

Lord Steel and Thatcher both turned ‘blind eye’

Democrat leader Lord Steel quit the party in shame yesterday after a damning report found the political establishment spent decades turning “a blind eye” to allegations of child sexual abuse.

High-profile politicians were protected from police action as whips sought to avoid “gossip and scandal”, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found.

The report cited as an example the evidence of former Liberal Party leader Lord Steel, who told the inquiry last year how he failed to pass on allegations against prominent colleague Sir Cyril Smith, even though he believed them to be true, because it was “past history”.

He later recommended Smith for a knighthood. But after he died in 2010, numerous allegations of child sexual abuse by Smith emerged, leading police to believe he was a serial sex offender.

In a statement announcing his resignation from both the party and the House of Lords, Lord Steel said he had been made a “proxy” for Smith. He said he struggled to hear while giving evidence, and was unable to clarify his evidence to the inquiry.

Lord Steel, who also led the Liberal Democrats briefly in 1988, added: “Knowing all I know now, I condemn Cyril Smith’s actions towards children. Not having secured a parliamentary scalp, I fear that I have been made a proxy for Cyril Smith.”

The long-awaited investigation into historical allegations against MPs, peers and civil servants working in Westminster found political institutions “significantly failed in their responses to allegations of child sexual abuse”.

The report found no evidence of a co-ordinated “paedophile ring” in Westminster, following claims by fantasist Carl Beech of its existence.

But it said institutions “regularly put their own reputations or political interests before child protection”.

Professor Alexis Jay, who chaired the inquiry, said “a consistent pattern emerged of failures to put the welfare of children above political status”.

The report also identified how former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and ex-Conservative party chairman Norman – now Lord – Tebbit were aware of rumours about MP Peter Morrison having “a penchant for small boys” but did nothing about it.

The report said the allegations “should have rung alarm bells in government”. But, instead, it was found “considerations of political embarrassment and the risk to security were paramount”.