by Les May
THE myth of Simon Danczuk the heroic martyr persecuted by the
'Corbinistas' in his party seems to be coming to an end at the hands of the
very newspapers which allowed him to promote it. How long will it be before the myths that he
is especially knowledgeable about historic abuse and that he 'outed' Cyril
Smith go the same way?
Danczuk has rightly been praised for his efforts of draw
attention to the contemporary phenomenon of 'grooming' of teenage girls
for sexual purposes by gangs. But his reputation as an expert on historic
abuse is built entirely upon the book 'Smile for the Camera' published in April
2014 and which supposedly details the activities of the late Cyril Smith.
Careful study of this book fails to reveal any indication either of a systematic methodology having been followed in collecting 'evidence' or of transcripts of interviews being made. There is no time-line or chronology in the book. Supposedly verbatim accounts of the words of two of men assaulted by Smith in the 1960s are given which bear a remarkable similarity to three accounts published in 1979 by journalists David Bartlett and John Walker. At no time are we told how many 'victims' the authors interviewed whilst writing the book and when questioned Mr Danczuk has resolutely refused to tell us. One of his most extravagant claims, that Smith was stopped by Northamptonshire police in the 1980s and found to have child pornography in the boot of his car but was released following a 'phone call' to London, has been shown to be without foundation. Commenting on this, the Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Simmonds said his force had been maligned and should expect an apology.
Careful study of this book fails to reveal any indication either of a systematic methodology having been followed in collecting 'evidence' or of transcripts of interviews being made. There is no time-line or chronology in the book. Supposedly verbatim accounts of the words of two of men assaulted by Smith in the 1960s are given which bear a remarkable similarity to three accounts published in 1979 by journalists David Bartlett and John Walker. At no time are we told how many 'victims' the authors interviewed whilst writing the book and when questioned Mr Danczuk has resolutely refused to tell us. One of his most extravagant claims, that Smith was stopped by Northamptonshire police in the 1980s and found to have child pornography in the boot of his car but was released following a 'phone call' to London, has been shown to be without foundation. Commenting on this, the Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Simmonds said his force had been maligned and should expect an apology.
Perhaps after the latest revelations about what Danczuk is
really like, journalists in the mainstream press will start to look a little
closer at the accuracy of the claims made in 'Smile for the Camera' instead if
taking it for granted. I'm not holding
my breath. Since the book was published
I've contacted Steve Richards of the Independent, Daniel Finkelstein of The
Times, Randeep Ramesh of the Guardian and Francis Wheen of Private Eye to
suggest they take a closer look at the book.
None have shown any interest which is a bit surprising since they are
all well respected journalists.
They could start with something simple like 'How many men who
claimed to have been abused by Smith did you interview before writing your book
Mr Danczuk?'
I've been asking him this for years and still can't get an answer.
I've been asking him this for years and still can't get an answer.
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