The long-awaited UK inquiry into allegations of historic child sex abuse in establishment circles has barely begun, yet already names are being revealed of senior politicians who may figure in deliberations. One is the Westminster MP protected by MI5 when suspected of child abuse, the late Conservative MP Sir Peter Morrison.
According to The Times, a Whitehall investigation was carried out in the mid-1980s after two sources approached senior officials with reports that Morrison had “a penchant for small boys”. NSPCC head Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC were tasked with examining how the Home Office dealt with files alleging child abuse from 1979 to 1999.
The official review was carried out last year but new material has since emerged including files about former MPs – Morrison, Home Secretary Leon Brittan and Sir William van Straubenzee – as well as former diplomat Sir Peter Hayman. The contents of those papers are, as yet, unknown. All four named are dead.
The fact that Morrison, van Straubenzee and Brittan – all Tories – are named in the papers is yet another blow to the establishment grandees of the Conservative Party who have been desperately attempting to silence truth tellers on this issue for some time. Further well-connected names are expected to be revealed in due course.
As Breitbart London previously reported , the trawl of Whitehall documents is part of the Goddard enquiry tasked with investigating the extent to which institutions have failed to protect children from sexual abuse. The inquiry is independent of government. It is led by New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard DNZM who is supported by a Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel and other expert advisers.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will investigate whether public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales. The focus now on Whitehall has also made other stunning revelations.
Tony Blair’s government was briefed about a paedophile investigation in which a minister was a suspect before it was halted, previously secret documents seen by the Daily Mirror reveal. Scotland Yard’s anti-corruption command are investigating claims that evidence the minister was part of a paedophile ring in Lambeth, South London, in the 1980s was covered up.
Retired detective Clive Driscoll says he was stopped from investigating the Labour star in 1998 after he named the politician as a suspect.
The Daily Mirror has obtained papers which prove for the first time that Mr Driscoll’s children’s home probe was being monitored by senior civil servants and ministers before it was halted. They include briefings written for the Blair administration just hours after the detective allegedly first named the minister as a suspect.
The officer was removed from the investigation three months later.
On July 9 Justice Lowell Goddard outlined the possibility that one in every 20 children in the UK has been abused. She also said she anticipated her work to take five years although it may go even further given the sheer weight of evidence already coming forward.
As the Independent has already noted, from the institutional abuse in children’s homes, to the grooming of underage girls in Oxford, Rochdale and elsewhere; from the disgrace of Jimmy Savile and other stars of the 1970s, to the historical allegations of horrific abuse by senior politicians and public officials, all will require careful examination.
The pity for many who will be appearing to give evidence is that the accused died – like the late Tory MPs Morrison and Brittan to name just two – before they were required to face the allegations in a public forum.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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