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Leon Brittan passed abuse concerns to 'relevant authorities' Home Office under fire over lost paedophile dossier
(about 1 hour later)
Lord Brittan passed concerns raised by an MP about alleged paedophiles at Westminster to the director of public prosecutions, it has emerged. The Home Office is facing calls to explain why a 1980s dossier about alleged paedophiles at Westminster was lost or destroyed by officials.
The former home secretary asked officials in the 1980s to "look carefully" at a dossier handed to him by MP Geoffrey Dickens. The document was handed to then Home Secretary Leon Brittan by Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens.
The Home Office says a review last year concluded that the matter had been dealt with properly. Lord Brittan passed concerns in it to the relevant authorities, but the file itself was "not retained".
But it said the dossier was "not retained". Labour MP Simon Danczuk said it may contain evidence that would identify child sex abusers.
Labour MP Simon Danczuk has been calling on Lord Brittan to say what he knows about the contents of the dossier, which he says may contain evidence that would identify sex abusers. In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the Home Office had launched a trawl for the missing dossier, but this had in fact already been carried out - even though few people appear to have been aware of it.
'Need to know' Simon Danczuk had been pressing Lord Brittan to reveal what he knew about the dossier's contents - and for the Home Office to publish it in full - when officials released a statement saying they had already carried out a review that had found it had not been retained.
In an earlier version of this story, we reported that the Home Office had launched a trawl of its files to find the missing dossier. But they said they had found a letter from Lord Brittan to the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens, dated March 1984, which said some of the concerns he had raised about alleged abuse had been passed to the director of public prosecutions, who had passed them on to the police to investigate.
In fact, such a review was carried out last year, following a freedom of information request, and the file was not discovered. The review found that Lord Brittan had acted appropriately in dealing with allegations and it had "found no evidence of Mr Dickens expressing dissatisfaction about the action taken in respect of the information he had passed on".
The executive summary of the independent review was published by the Home Office last August. Mr Danczuk told BBC News he had not been aware of the review - a summary of which was published last year - but said it raised more questions than it answered.
It includes a letter from Leon Brittan to Mr Dickens, dated March 1984, in which he said: "In general terms, the view of the director of public prosecutions is that two of the letters you forwarded could form the basis for inquiries by the police and they are now being passed to the appropriate authorities. "They must have published the review with little fanfare and people will ask why that would be the case," he told BBC News.
"In other cases, there either seems to be inadequate evidence to pursue prosecution, for example the lady who wrote about PIE [Paedophile Information Exchange] advertising but did not secure any example of the material complained of, or they have already been dealt with in some way by the courts or the police."
The review noted that it had "found no evidence of Mr Dickens expressing dissatisfaction about the action taken in respect of the information he had passed on".
Mr Danczuk told BBC News he "wasn't aware that the Home Office had carried out a review into these issues", adding: "They must have published the review with little fanfare and people will ask why that would be the case.
"Is the review adequate? I suspect it isn't and we are now told that the dossier that had been presented about networks of paedophiles by Geoffrey Dickens to the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan has been lost or destroyed. That raises questions.""Is the review adequate? I suspect it isn't and we are now told that the dossier that had been presented about networks of paedophiles by Geoffrey Dickens to the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan has been lost or destroyed. That raises questions."
He called on the Home Office to reveal the outcome of any police investigations that may have resulted from the information in the dossier.He called on the Home Office to reveal the outcome of any police investigations that may have resulted from the information in the dossier.
He added: "Why would you destroy such an important document? What action was taken? Were any prosecutions forthcoming? We need to know this. It's raising more questions than it is answers."He added: "Why would you destroy such an important document? What action was taken? Were any prosecutions forthcoming? We need to know this. It's raising more questions than it is answers."
Mr Danczuk, who helped expose the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith as a child sex abuser, has called for a national overarching "Hillsborough-style" inquiry into allegations of child sex abuse. Downing Street rejected calls to publish the review in full. The prime minister's official spokesman said: "The executive summaries fully reflect the work that was done."
On Tuesday, he urged Lord Brittan to "share his knowledge of the allegations" contained in Mr Dickens' report.
What were the Dickens Dossiers?What were the Dickens Dossiers?
Analysis by Matt Prodger, Home Affairs CorrespondentAnalysis by Matt Prodger, Home Affairs Correspondent
Geoffrey Dickens was Conservative MP for Huddersfield West from 1979 until 1983, when he was then elected for Littleborough and Saddleworth and held the seat until his death in 1995.Geoffrey Dickens was Conservative MP for Huddersfield West from 1979 until 1983, when he was then elected for Littleborough and Saddleworth and held the seat until his death in 1995.
According to press reports at the time, he handed two dossiers to the Home Office in 1983-84. One of them, he reportedly said, concerned a civil servant and another one related to an employee of Buckingham Palace. They also contained allegations concerning the Paedophile Information Exchange, a group that campaigned to make sex between adults and children legal.According to press reports at the time, he handed two dossiers to the Home Office in 1983-84. One of them, he reportedly said, concerned a civil servant and another one related to an employee of Buckingham Palace. They also contained allegations concerning the Paedophile Information Exchange, a group that campaigned to make sex between adults and children legal.
But in an interview with the Daily Express in August 1983 he also said he would expose eight prominent figures if the home secretary failed to act. He told the paper: "I've got eight names of big people, really important names, public figures. And I am going to expose them in Parliament.But in an interview with the Daily Express in August 1983 he also said he would expose eight prominent figures if the home secretary failed to act. He told the paper: "I've got eight names of big people, really important names, public figures. And I am going to expose them in Parliament.
"One of these people is a friend of mine, but you have to be merciless protecting the young. These people must not be allowed to get away with it just because they are important in public life.""One of these people is a friend of mine, but you have to be merciless protecting the young. These people must not be allowed to get away with it just because they are important in public life."
In response, Lord Brittan said in a statement that he had received a "substantial bundle of papers" from Mr Dickens, which he had asked Home Office officials to examine and "report back to me" if "action needed to be taken". He never did expose them in Parliament.In response, Lord Brittan said in a statement that he had received a "substantial bundle of papers" from Mr Dickens, which he had asked Home Office officials to examine and "report back to me" if "action needed to be taken". He never did expose them in Parliament.
Mr Danczuk told the Commons Home Affairs Committee that politics was "the last refuge of child sex abuse deniers" and there was a view among many politicians that alleged offenders should not be named. A letter from Leon Brittan to Mr Dickens, dated March 1984, says: "In general terms, the view of the director of public prosecutions is that two of the letters you forwarded could form the basis for inquiries by the police and they are now being passed to the appropriate authorities.
"In other cases, there either seems to be inadequate evidence to pursue prosecution, for example the lady who wrote about PIE [Paedophile Information Exchange] advertising but did not secure any example of the material complained of, or they have already been dealt with in some way by the courts or the police."
On Tuesday, Mr Danczuk told the Commons Home Affairs Committee that politics was "the last refuge of child sex abuse deniers" and there was a view among many politicians that alleged offenders should not be named. He called on Lord Brittan to say what he knew about Mr Dickens' allegations.
On Wednesday morning, Lord Brittan issued a statement in which he said he had received a "substantial bundle of papers" from Geoffrey Dickens and had asked officials to "report back to me" if "action needed to be taken". He said he "did not recall" being "contacted further about these matters".On Wednesday morning, Lord Brittan issued a statement in which he said he had received a "substantial bundle of papers" from Geoffrey Dickens and had asked officials to "report back to me" if "action needed to be taken". He said he "did not recall" being "contacted further about these matters".
Shortly afterwards, the Home Office released a statement pointing to its 2013 report, which suggested Lord Brittan had, in fact, passed concerns raised by Mr Dickens to the relevant authorities.Shortly afterwards, the Home Office released a statement pointing to its 2013 report, which suggested Lord Brittan had, in fact, passed concerns raised by Mr Dickens to the relevant authorities.
It said: "In response to concerns raised in Parliament and the media relating to the handling by the department of historical allegations of abuse, the permanent secretary commissioned an independent review of all relevant papers received by the department between 1979 to 1999 to identify any information received and the outcome.It said: "In response to concerns raised in Parliament and the media relating to the handling by the department of historical allegations of abuse, the permanent secretary commissioned an independent review of all relevant papers received by the department between 1979 to 1999 to identify any information received and the outcome.
"The review concluded the Home Office acted appropriately, referring information received during this period to the relevant authorities.""The review concluded the Home Office acted appropriately, referring information received during this period to the relevant authorities."
Lord Brittan then issued a further statement, saying: "In the last hour I have been alerted to a Home Office independent review conducted last year into what information it received about organised child sex abuse between 1979 and 1999.Lord Brittan then issued a further statement, saying: "In the last hour I have been alerted to a Home Office independent review conducted last year into what information it received about organised child sex abuse between 1979 and 1999.
"The review found information had been dealt with properly."The review found information had been dealt with properly.
"It also disclosed that material received from Mr Dickens in November 1983 and January 1984 had not been retained."It also disclosed that material received from Mr Dickens in November 1983 and January 1984 had not been retained.
"However, a letter was sent from myself to Mr Dickens on March 20, 1984, explaining what had been done in relation to the files."However, a letter was sent from myself to Mr Dickens on March 20, 1984, explaining what had been done in relation to the files.
"The Home Office independent review is entirely consistent with the action I set out in my earlier statement. Whilst I could not recall what further action was taken 30 years ago, the information contained in this report shows that appropriate action and follow-up happened.""The Home Office independent review is entirely consistent with the action I set out in my earlier statement. Whilst I could not recall what further action was taken 30 years ago, the information contained in this report shows that appropriate action and follow-up happened."