The Lib Dems suspended Lord Steel yesterday after his admission this week that Cyril Smith had confessed to him over the child abuse allegations in 1979 but scandalously did nothing about it. Now Labour’s Shadow Early Years Minister Tracy Brabin has written to Lord Steel calling for him to resign from the Privy Council. Read the letter below:
After admitting under oath to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that Cyril Smith confessed in 1979 to abusing boys, Lord Steel is in trouble. Jo Swinson says “The party has rightly begun a disciplinary investigation into Lord Steel following his revelations. Clearly this is incredibly serious and he should be suspended while this takes place.” LibDem HQ press office so far unable to confirm situation…
Today at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Lord Steel has admitted under oath that Cyril Smith confessed to him in 1979 that the child abuse allegations against him were true. Steel admitted he still did nothing about it, and made no effort to investigate whether Smith posed any continuing risk to children. Despicable.
Yet on Newsnight last year Steel described the allegations as “scurrilous hearsay” and that he did not know if Cyril Smith was guilty of abuse. That can’t be compatible with what he said today. In In 1988 Lord Steel, know what he did, put Cyril Smith forward for a knighthood. Shameful.
UPDATE: See page 126 in the Inquiry transcript for detail.
