"Home Office shredded abuse files"

[dutchman]

Mandarin fuels row as MP insists vital dossier of claims STILL exist

Explosive dossiers allegedly revealing the identities of a paedophile ring operating at Westminster have ‘probably been destroyed’, it was revealed last night.

The Home Office’s top mandarin Mark Sedwill (pictured right) has admitted that crucial files which could expose historical child sex abuse are likely to have been shredded.

On a day when the scandal at Westminster deepened, it also emerged that:

• MI5 could be holding incendiary information which unmasked prominent figures as child sex predators in the 1980s;
  
  
• An ex-child protection worker said ministers and MPs were involved in an Establishment paedophile ring three decades ago;
  
  
• Baroness Butler-Sloss, who led the Cleveland child abuse inquiry, was named chairman of a review into historical child sex abuse;
  
  
• A prominent QC will join a fresh inquiry into information the Home Office received during the period – including a 1983 dossier from now dead Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens;
  
  
• An MP insisted that despite claims that the Dickens dossier had been destroyed, it was widely circulated among civil servants – and copies may still survive.

The late Mr Dickens planned to expose eight Establishment figures connected to child abuse. But it is now understood that there are likely to be more than eight names listed in the dossier – some of which are said to be ‘breathtaking’.

Last year Mr Sedwill, permanent secretary at the under-fire Home Office, led a review into his department’s handling of child abuse allegations between 1979 and 1999.

He discovered that 114 files which could have shed light on abuse – possibly involving high-ranking politicians – were missing, and four which named suspected paedophiles had never been passed to the police.

During a stormy session of the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday, he stressed that his review had failed to uncover any ‘sinister’ reason for their disappearance.

But he said the files had ‘probably’ been destroyed after two years, rather than lost, and so could never be recovered.

He told MPs: ‘Most of these files were probably destroyed, because the kind of topics that they covered would have been subject to the normal file destruction procedures.’

However despite Mr Sedwill’s suggestion that files had been shredded, a Labour MP last night made the explosive claim that the dossier had been ‘widely circulated’ around Whitehall – and is likely to have survived.

It has emerged that the ten-page dossier was copied and given to civil servants in other departments, all of whom had to sign the Official Secrets Act because of the seniority of the names it contained.

Today John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, will call for the OSA to be lifted for this item only, to enable potential whistleblowers with copies to bring it into the public domain.

Last night Mr Mann told the Mail: ‘There are multiple copies of that dossier which were circulated at the time across other departments. There was a meeting at the time in Whitehall where everyone had a copy.’

He added: ‘Without question, there are multiple copies out there. All it requires is for the Official Secrets Act to be lifted on this item in order for a copy to come forward.

'People will then know the evidence, and there are some breathtaking names.’

Meanwhile, MPs raised the prospect that MI5 could be storing copies of the dossier.

The Security Services are tasked with finding any information which could be used to blackmail MPs into giving up State secrets.

MI5 is known to have a detailed file on the allegations against Liberal Democrat MP and notorious paedophile Cyril Smith, which was passed on by police.

Tory MP Michael Ellis said: ‘Files of a similar nature, which relate to the integrity of MPs, historically have been copied by the Security Services.’

Yesterday Home Secretary Theresa May said that provided there was no threat to national security, the fresh probe – led by NSPCC chief Sir Peter Wanless – would be able to access intelligence held by MI5 and MI6.

And significantly the job of assisting Mr Wanless has been given to Official Secrets Act expert Richard Whittam QC, who has the highest possible level of security clearance.

But the Home Secretary was yesterday criticised after it was revealed that Mr Sedwill had only shared the ‘broad conclusions’ of his review with her in June.

Labour’s home affairs spokesman Yvette Cooper said: ‘There are clearly big questions for the Home Secretary to answer. Neither she nor her senior official appear to have been briefed on its contents.’

[rebbonk]

files ...revealing the identities of a paedophile ring operating at Westminster have ‘probably been destroyed’

I bet they have!

The allegations go straight to the very heart of the establishment, and we can't have that, can we?