Cyril Smith: No guarantee police won’t be prosecuted for blowing the whistle
Cyril Smith in 1981
Westminster paedophiles: a look at reporting on the story that children were abused and killed by above-the-law VIPs in the 1970s and 1980s.
Only the Daily Mail leads with the story on its front page. Readers hear news of “Another Cyril Smith Cover-Up”.
Smith is the former Labour and Liberal politican who died a knight of the realm but is now billed as a serial child abuser. Recent news is that he was twice arrested for alleged crimes against boys. He escaped prosecution because, as one retired copper says, police buried the files.
The Mail picks up our story that Smith was protected by Don Mackintosh, a police sergeant who served prison time for child sex absue. Like Smith, Mackintosh is dead.
You can read more of that here.
And there is more. It’s now alleged Northamptonshire police allowed Smith to escape unchallenged when they found child pornography in his car.
One crime might be an accident. Three times stinks of a cover-up.
The Mail then adds that Prime Minister David Cameron has “guaranteed” that any police officer blowing the whistle will not be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. No. He has not guaranteed anything of the sort. The Mail is wrong. Cameron only said:
“I don’t want to see anyone prosecuted for uncovering wrongdoing in this way.”
No guarantee has been given.
The same story of the police’s alleged role in a Smith cover-up appears on Page 18 of the Sun; page 5 in the Mirror; nowher in the Daily Star; and nowhere in the Daily Express.
Posted: 20th, March 2015 | In: Politicians, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
