'Lost opportunities' to prosecute MP Cyril Smith for child sex abuse - report
An inquiry into exploitation at a boys' hostel and a residential school in Rochdale says there was an "unwillingness" to act.
Thursday 12 April 2018 13:41, UK
There were "lost opportunities" to prosecute the late politician Sir Cyril Smith for child sexual abuse, a report has found.聽
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) concluded there was an "unwillingness of those at the highest level" to recognise that Smith was capable of perpetrating child sexual abuse.
It also found that Lancashire Police's file concerning Smith was given to the Crown Prosecution Service in 1998, which advised that he should face no charge despite confirming there was "a realistic prospect of conviction".
But the inquiry acknowledged there was no cover up or conspiracy in the way Smith obtained his knighthood.
Smith was the Liberal MP for Rochdale between 1972 and 1992.
Allegations of child abuse surfaced during his lifetime but he was never prosecuted. He died in 2010.
The CPS admitted that if lawyers were presented with the same evidence today, they would have charged Smith.
A CPS spokesperson said: "Our approach to cases such as this is very different today. The law and practice have both changed significantly and it is likely that a CPS prosecutor presented with the same evidence today would bring charges against Cyril Smith.
"The decision was a finely balanced one, made by a lawyer who, while satisfied that the complainants were telling the truth, was confronted by a set of particular and unusual circumstances.
"The suggestion that there may have been a "valuable opportunity" to prosecute in 1998 should be seen in that light.
"Since those decisions were made, training and guidance for prosecutors handling child sexual abuse and rape cases have been subject to huge change."
The IICSA inquiry focused on how the authorities in Rochdale responded to allegations of child sexual abuse between the 1960's and 1990's.
Boys as young as 11-years-old were being exploited at the council-run Knowl View School and Cambridge House Boys' Hostel in Rochdale as well as in the town centre.
They were not regarded by authorities as victims but instead authors of their own abuse, the report released on Thursday found.
"There was a total lack of urgency on the part of the authorities to treat the matters as serious sexual assaults," it said.
Professor Alexis Jay who chaired the inquiry said: "After listening to the evidence presented by a number of victims and survivors in Rochdale at the time, I am deeply disturbed at the evidence of extensive abuse and the institutional responses to that abuse.
"Many of those who testified to their abuse have never had the opportunity to see justice through the courts.
"I hope that the public hearings and this report has offered them some measure of acknowledgement for their suffering".
The inquiry also concluded that that they did not believe the evidence of Richard Farnell, the former leader of Rochdale Council, who resigned some weeks after giving evidence to them.
They said his refusal to accept responsibility for events was "shameful".