Northern Voices, MI5 & The Daily Telegraph

Can the Coppers Crack it?

IN Northern Voices No.8 we asked 'Was Cyril Smith Set Up?'  Back then we questioned if there was something called the 'Clockwork Orange' operation to discredit certain senior politicians, as Paul Foot had published a book that made this allegation, in the 1990s, entitled 'Who Framed Colin Wallace'.  In this book he suggested that in the 1970s Cyril was one of a number of figures including Jeremy Thorpe, Edward Heath and Harold Wilson, who some elements in the intellegence services had sought to discredit.  The plan was to manipulate the British political system, and place a more right-wing authoritarian government in power.  At least that was the theory. 

The thing that is now holding up any serious investigation into the allegations against Cyril Smith is the disappearance of the dossier of sexual abuse, that was held by the Lancashire Police at their special branch headquarters in Preston.  This week Tony Robinson, who worked for Lancashire police in the 1970s, told the Daily Telegraph he saw a police file that was 'thick' with allegations from lads who claimed they had been molested by Cyril.  This file, he said, had been looked at by the then Director of Public Prosecutions.  Commenting on the dossier Mr. Robinson said:  'I looked through Sir Cyril's file which was kept in a safe in our office.  It was thick full of statements from young boys alleging abuse.  It had been prepared for prosecution (and) written across the top of it were the words:  "No further action, not in the public interest DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions)".' 

A bit after that Mr. Robinson said:  'I was called by an MI5 officer.  They asked me if I had the file on Mr. Cyril Smith, and said:  "Please have this sent down to London".'  That, it seems, was at a time when Smith was the Liberal Party Chief Whip under his leader Jeremy Thorpe, and the Liberals were useful to the Labour Party in forming a government of the centre/ left.  It has been suggested that, at that time, there were elements in MI5 who sought to undermine the centre/ left in British politics including the Tory leader Edward Heath, and whose aim was to bring into power a more authoritarian government of the right (see Paul Foot's 'Who Framed Colin Wallace').  All this has been considered in Northern Voices No.8, our argument then was expressed thus: 
'Clockwork Orange, in the 1970s, was an attack on civil libertarians by elements who wanted a more authoritarian regime in Britain.  They got their wish with Margaret Thatcher.'

This week's report in the Daily Telegraph would now seem to lend some credibility to this view.  The worrying thing now is can the police get their hands on the dossier apparently held by MI5?