For four decades Cyril Smith, the former Liberal MP, was free to abuse boys with impunity. How did he get away with it?.
Cyril Smith was free for decades to abuse boys Photo: REX FEATURES
When Simon Danczuk first arrived in Rochdale as a prospective Labour candidate
in 2006, he could not help but be impressed by Cyril Smith.
Although increasingly frail and supposedly "retired" from politics, Liberal
activists would still push the 29 stone former MP into the street on his
wheelchair where constituents would queue up to speak to him.
Mr Danczuk told The Telegraph: "I thought he was a good politician, I thought
he was smart. He got on with people, he could speak their language, he was
entwined with the public he represented."
However over the next six years Mr Danczuk, who became Labour MP for Rochdale
in 2010, came to realise that the public image that Smith so carefully
cultivated as a jovial and charming man of the people was far from the truth.
Instead he was confronted with irrefutable evidence that Smith was a predatory
paedophile who had used his power and influence to prey on hundreds of boys,
some as young as eight, for over four decades.
He and his researcher, Matt Baker, were told by victims and whistleblowers how
Smith had been protected by his own Liberal party, police and even the
security services. During his lifetime, Smith was apparently untouchable.
Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker have detailed the industrial scale of Smith's abuse and the decades long establishment cover up in his new book, Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith.
Last week, the welter of new revelations left the Liberal Democrats in disarray.
While Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the allegations were "truly horrific", he claimed that he and his party knew nothing about the sex abuse allegations. He has refused to launch a new investigation.
Mr Danczuk says the Liberal Democrats have been "defensive, slippery and shifty". "They are a party in denial," he said. "I don't think they're fit for government. They are a small political party, I find it incredible that they are claiming that they didn't hear the rumours about Smith."
Mr Danczuk's book raises as many questions about Smith as it answers. How did Cyril Smith get away with it? Who in the establishment protected him? And was there a network of paedophiles operating in Westminster?
Victims reduced to 'quivering wrecks' by '29 stone bully'
On 13th November, 2012, Mr Danczuk made a speech in the Commons before a virtually deserted Commons naming Cyril Smith as a child abuser.
He admits to feeling "nervous" because he is "not a great parliamentary performer", but said he felt compelled to go public. “I knew I had to do get this message out there and let Rochdale have some comfort. It had been carrying this bloody secret for too long,” he said.
Mr Danczuk had been passed affidavits from eight boys abused by Smith at Cambridge House boys’ hostel in Rochdale in the 1960s. The statements made for grim reading.
Smith, who had helped found the hostel, was given "free rein" to administer punishments and took pleasure in spanking boys "for their own good" and also conducted "medical examinations" of the boys after asking them to pull down their pants and trousers.
His speech in the Commons was brief. "Young boys were humiliated, terrified and reduced to quivering wrecks by a 29-stone bully imposing himself on them," he said. "I call on the minister to do everything in his power to bring police files from previous investigations about Cyril Smith to light.”
In the house, Mr Danczuk's statement was met with virtual silence. Few MPs commented on it and it received little press coverage, coming shortly after the BBC falsely alleged that Lord McAlpine, the former Tory Party treasurer, was linked to sex abuse in children's care homes.
Back in Rochdale, however, the impact was seismic. Over the next few days Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker received numerous of calls from Smith's victims, who were overwhelmed to see their abuser finally named.
Mr Baker said: "We had a really powerful email from a victim who had said he had been at home having a cup of tea and flipping through the channels when he alighted on the Parliament Channel. He said he couldn't believe someone was talking about this."
Another victim from the Cambridge House made a personal visit to see Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker.
He said he had been abused by Smith as a boy,” he said. “He ended up at Cambridge House after his mother had died. He had a day off sick and had to be examined by Smith and was abused. He has lived with it for the whole of his life and still hasn’t told his wife.”
Smiths’s modus operandi was becoming increasingly clear. “He used his veneer of respectability to gain access to vulnerable boys who were easy targets,” Mr Danczuk said. “He took on a father figure role, and picked victims who were essentially voiceless with low self-esteem.”
Mr Danczuk’s office in Rochdale, which is streets away from where Smith once lived with his mother, also began to receive calls from former police officers who have spent years investigating Smith.
One officer revealed that the police had compiled a heavy dossier on Smith that had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1979 but gone missing.
Another former officer said that he had been warned off questioning a teenager who had been abused by Cyril Smith by special branch.
Faced with growing evidence about Smith’s activities, Mr Danczuk chose to speak at Prime Minister’s questions, where he called on David Cameron to publish the police files on Smith and mount an investigation.
Mr Danczuk’s revelations became front-page news, and within days both Greater Manchester Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions admitted that Smith should have been prosecuted.
As the investigations into Smith widened as it emerged police had received 144 complaints from victims of the paedophile from across the country.
Some of the most serious were at the Knowl View school for boys with learning disabilities in the 1990s, where the local authority found that children were being put at risk of aids through liaisons with known sex offenders.
Smith was chairman of the governors, and former pupils recounted how they had been abused by the former Liberal MP after being summoned from their beds at the night. One whistleblower described the establishment, which was closed down, as a “sweet shop for paedophiles”.
Greater Manchester Police are now investigating 11 new suspects in relation to child abuse at the school. Mr Danczuk, however, believes that the ramifications of the scandal go far beyond Rochdale.
The Liberal Democrats are 'in denial'
For the Liberal Democrats, the revelations about Cyril Smith’s history of sex abuse have proved particularly difficult.
On Smith’s 80th birthday in 2008, Mr Clegg hailed him as a “beacon” and an “inspiration”, and said he was “deeply saddened” at his death two years later.
Last week, in response to Mr Danczuk’s book, Mr Clegg said that the allegations took place “well before the party I now lead even existed – in fact, took place before I even existed”.
He said that following Mr Danczuk’s 2012 speech in the Commons, Lib Dem whips had asked MPs and peers whether they were aware of the allegations.
They said that they knew nothing, despite evidence to the contrary.
In 1979 the Rochdale Alternative Press, a local magazine, published details of Smith’s abuse at Cambridge House. A spokesman for Lord Steel, then leader of the Liberal Party: "All he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms."
Last year Lord Steel, who is now a Lib Dem peer, confirmed he had been aware of the allegations but accepted Smith’s denials. He last week threatened to sue a newspaper who confronted him about the allegations.
Mr Danczuk is now calling for a public inquiry into Smith because he says the Lib Dems cannot be trusted on the issue. “Nick Clegg has failed to show leadership on this,” he said. “It is pretty close to cowardice. In the 90s people went to jail over Tory sleaze, but nothing is happening here.”
The Labour MP is convinced, however, that that scandal goes deeper. One of the victims he contacted was abused by Smith at the Elm Guest House in south-west London in the 1980s.
Police are investigating allegations that the house was at the centre of a “VIP” paedophile ring frequented by politicians, high-ranking policeman and celebrities.
The victim told Mr Danczuk that he was surprised he was focusing his attentions on Smith when there was a “much bigger fish” who was a guest at the lodge, a politician who is still sitting in Parliament.
Mr Danczuk believes it is “inevitable” that the scandal will become public. “He was clearly giving the impression never mind Smith, what about this person,” he said. “There is someone higher up the food chain, much more important.”
For Mr Danczuk, the revelations about Smith are only the beginning.
Source
Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker have detailed the industrial scale of Smith's abuse and the decades long establishment cover up in his new book, Smile for the Camera: The Double Life of Cyril Smith.
Last week, the welter of new revelations left the Liberal Democrats in disarray.
While Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the allegations were "truly horrific", he claimed that he and his party knew nothing about the sex abuse allegations. He has refused to launch a new investigation.
Mr Danczuk says the Liberal Democrats have been "defensive, slippery and shifty". "They are a party in denial," he said. "I don't think they're fit for government. They are a small political party, I find it incredible that they are claiming that they didn't hear the rumours about Smith."
Mr Danczuk's book raises as many questions about Smith as it answers. How did Cyril Smith get away with it? Who in the establishment protected him? And was there a network of paedophiles operating in Westminster?
Victims reduced to 'quivering wrecks' by '29 stone bully'
On 13th November, 2012, Mr Danczuk made a speech in the Commons before a virtually deserted Commons naming Cyril Smith as a child abuser.
He admits to feeling "nervous" because he is "not a great parliamentary performer", but said he felt compelled to go public. “I knew I had to do get this message out there and let Rochdale have some comfort. It had been carrying this bloody secret for too long,” he said.
Mr Danczuk had been passed affidavits from eight boys abused by Smith at Cambridge House boys’ hostel in Rochdale in the 1960s. The statements made for grim reading.
Smith, who had helped found the hostel, was given "free rein" to administer punishments and took pleasure in spanking boys "for their own good" and also conducted "medical examinations" of the boys after asking them to pull down their pants and trousers.
His speech in the Commons was brief. "Young boys were humiliated, terrified and reduced to quivering wrecks by a 29-stone bully imposing himself on them," he said. "I call on the minister to do everything in his power to bring police files from previous investigations about Cyril Smith to light.”
In the house, Mr Danczuk's statement was met with virtual silence. Few MPs commented on it and it received little press coverage, coming shortly after the BBC falsely alleged that Lord McAlpine, the former Tory Party treasurer, was linked to sex abuse in children's care homes.
Back in Rochdale, however, the impact was seismic. Over the next few days Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker received numerous of calls from Smith's victims, who were overwhelmed to see their abuser finally named.
Mr Baker said: "We had a really powerful email from a victim who had said he had been at home having a cup of tea and flipping through the channels when he alighted on the Parliament Channel. He said he couldn't believe someone was talking about this."
Another victim from the Cambridge House made a personal visit to see Mr Danczuk and Mr Baker.
He said he had been abused by Smith as a boy,” he said. “He ended up at Cambridge House after his mother had died. He had a day off sick and had to be examined by Smith and was abused. He has lived with it for the whole of his life and still hasn’t told his wife.”
Smiths’s modus operandi was becoming increasingly clear. “He used his veneer of respectability to gain access to vulnerable boys who were easy targets,” Mr Danczuk said. “He took on a father figure role, and picked victims who were essentially voiceless with low self-esteem.”
Mr Danczuk’s office in Rochdale, which is streets away from where Smith once lived with his mother, also began to receive calls from former police officers who have spent years investigating Smith.
One officer revealed that the police had compiled a heavy dossier on Smith that had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1979 but gone missing.
Another former officer said that he had been warned off questioning a teenager who had been abused by Cyril Smith by special branch.
Faced with growing evidence about Smith’s activities, Mr Danczuk chose to speak at Prime Minister’s questions, where he called on David Cameron to publish the police files on Smith and mount an investigation.
Mr Danczuk’s revelations became front-page news, and within days both Greater Manchester Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions admitted that Smith should have been prosecuted.
As the investigations into Smith widened as it emerged police had received 144 complaints from victims of the paedophile from across the country.
Some of the most serious were at the Knowl View school for boys with learning disabilities in the 1990s, where the local authority found that children were being put at risk of aids through liaisons with known sex offenders.
Smith was chairman of the governors, and former pupils recounted how they had been abused by the former Liberal MP after being summoned from their beds at the night. One whistleblower described the establishment, which was closed down, as a “sweet shop for paedophiles”.
Greater Manchester Police are now investigating 11 new suspects in relation to child abuse at the school. Mr Danczuk, however, believes that the ramifications of the scandal go far beyond Rochdale.
The Liberal Democrats are 'in denial'
For the Liberal Democrats, the revelations about Cyril Smith’s history of sex abuse have proved particularly difficult.
On Smith’s 80th birthday in 2008, Mr Clegg hailed him as a “beacon” and an “inspiration”, and said he was “deeply saddened” at his death two years later.
Last week, in response to Mr Danczuk’s book, Mr Clegg said that the allegations took place “well before the party I now lead even existed – in fact, took place before I even existed”.
He said that following Mr Danczuk’s 2012 speech in the Commons, Lib Dem whips had asked MPs and peers whether they were aware of the allegations.
They said that they knew nothing, despite evidence to the contrary.
In 1979 the Rochdale Alternative Press, a local magazine, published details of Smith’s abuse at Cambridge House. A spokesman for Lord Steel, then leader of the Liberal Party: "All he seems to have done is spanked a few bare bottoms."
Last year Lord Steel, who is now a Lib Dem peer, confirmed he had been aware of the allegations but accepted Smith’s denials. He last week threatened to sue a newspaper who confronted him about the allegations.
Mr Danczuk is now calling for a public inquiry into Smith because he says the Lib Dems cannot be trusted on the issue. “Nick Clegg has failed to show leadership on this,” he said. “It is pretty close to cowardice. In the 90s people went to jail over Tory sleaze, but nothing is happening here.”
The Labour MP is convinced, however, that that scandal goes deeper. One of the victims he contacted was abused by Smith at the Elm Guest House in south-west London in the 1980s.
Police are investigating allegations that the house was at the centre of a “VIP” paedophile ring frequented by politicians, high-ranking policeman and celebrities.
The victim told Mr Danczuk that he was surprised he was focusing his attentions on Smith when there was a “much bigger fish” who was a guest at the lodge, a politician who is still sitting in Parliament.
Mr Danczuk believes it is “inevitable” that the scandal will become public. “He was clearly giving the impression never mind Smith, what about this person,” he said. “There is someone higher up the food chain, much more important.”
For Mr Danczuk, the revelations about Smith are only the beginning.
Source
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