Growing scandal over paedophile group and government

It looks like a very nasty can of worms has been opened:

It's here - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paedophile-information-exchange-taxpayers-cash-3197625

The people who knew about it and did nothing, are just as guilty as those who did the acts, IMO.   

I know; heads really do need to roll over this one, not just the usual inquiry at which lessons will be learned.

What the Hell were they thinking?   

Oh Lord, it was Labour AND Tories:

Huge sums of TAXPAYER'S cash 'handed to vile child-sex pervert group' by Home Office officials
Mar 01, 2014 21:07 By Keir Mudie, Nick Dorman 0 Comments

Huge sums of taxpayers’ cash were handed to child-sex perverts by Home Office officials , according to shock new claims revealed by the Sunday People.

A total of £70,000 is said to have been given to the Paedophile Information Exchange ­between 1977 and 1980 under Labour and then Margaret Thatcher’s first Tory government.

That’s worth more than £400,000 in today’s money.

At the time PIE was pushing for the age of consent to be cut to FOUR.

The claims are being ­investigated by Scotland Yard after a whistleblower named the senior civil servant he said had signed off the payments.

Last night Labour MP Tom Watson said: “It’s a remarkable state of affairs and the Home Secretary must make sure a ­report is presented as soon
as possible.

“If the allegations are true, it shows how insidious an organisation PIE was that they could even convince the Home Office to give them taxpayers’ money.”

PIE began its vile activities in 1974 and its tentacles quickly spread into the upper ­echelons of the establishment.

Last week it emerged senior Labour politicians Harriet Harman , her husband Jack Dromey and Patricia Hewitt had been involved with the National Council for Civil Liberties at a time PIE was affiliated to it.


Now an ex-Home Office worker claims successive governments backed PIE with YOUR cash.

The whistleblower said civil servant Clifford Hindley was the man who rubber-stamped the PIE grants around 1980.

Hindley, who unusually for the time was openly gay, was well known in Whitehall as a pal of Jeremy Thorpe, the ex-Liberal leader who was acquitted in a sensational murder trial.

The two often dined together at London’s Reform Club and Hindley took Thorpe out for lunch on the day the politician learnt he was going to be tried.

The whistleblower has now contacted Operation Fernbridge, a Metropolitan Police task force probing paedophile networks.

He told them he saw a PIE grant application covering three years, which he recalled totalled £35,000.

He believed it was a renewal – suggesting a similar grant had been given in 1977 under the previous Labour government.

It means PIE probably got at least £70,000 from the taxpayer.

The whistleblower took the document to Hindley, the head of the Voluntary Services United, a branch of the Home Ofice that awarded grants to charities and non-profit groups.

But he alleges Hindley, who is now dead, took the paperwork from him and told him to drop the matter. After brushing aside his concerns, he believes Hindley signed off on the grant.

The Home Office said last night: “We are aware of the ­allegations and the Permanent Secretary has ­commissioned an ­independent investigation.”

But a Freedom of Information request shows all Home Office files about PIE since 1979 have been destroyed – quite legally.

Hindley left the Home Office in 1983 and wrote academic ­articles on gay relationships in Benjamin Britten’s operas.

City University music lecturer Ian Pace told Exaro investigative website: “Some of Hindley’s writings certainly show a strong interest in pederastic elements.”

PIE’s membership ranged from the jobless to diplomats.

In 1978, a police raid on a flat found 45 diaries filled with ­depraved fantasies.

The flat was registered to a Mr Henderson – an alias of former High Commissioner to Canada and deputy head of MI6 Sir Peter Hayman.

After being cautioned by ­police Hayman told them: “If this comes out I shall either shoot myself or go to Brazil.”

Five PIE members were prosecuted in 1981 for conspiracy to corrupt public morals.

But Hayman’s identity was not revealed in court.

He was later exposed by MP Geoffrey Dickens, who used Parliamentary privilege to name him in the Commons.

Mr Dickens later claimed he was subjected to terrifying threats after naming Hayman.

He said: “The noose around my neck grew tighter.


“Where big money is involved and as important names came into my possession, so the threats began.

“First, I received threatening calls followed by two burglaries at my home.

“Then my name appeared on a killer’s hit-list.”

No evidence to support Mr Dickens’s claims ever came to light but friends say he took the threats seriously.

Hayman was finally jailed in 1984 for having child porn. He died in 1992.

Another PIE member was Soviet spy Geoffrey Prime.

But even after he was jailed in 1982 for sex attacks on three young girls, Margaret Thatcher stood up in the Commons and denied he had any link to PIE.

PIE members continued to build their underground network despite police probes.

Many became powerful in social work, teaching and even the criminal justice system – and thousands of vulnerable kids were traumatised as a result.

More than a million people signed a petition demanding PIE’s child-sex campaign be banned – but it never was.

In 1984, two former executive committee members of PIE were convicted of child-porn ­offences but acquitted of incitement to commit ­unlawful sexual acts with children.

And the group’s leader fled the UK while on bail.

PIE finally called it a day later that year.

Meanwhile, as the ­furore over the NCCL’s involvement with PIE continues to reverberate this week, only Patricia Hewitt has so far said sorry for her role.

The former MP, who was the council’s general secretary when PIE was affiliated, said: “I take responsibility for the ­mistakes we made.

“I got it wrong on PIE and I apologise for ­having done so.”

Shadow policing minister Jack Dromey insisted he was a “resolute opponent” of PIE when he became NCCL chairman in 1976.

He said: “I made it clear my first priority would be to take on the child-sex ­abusers of PIE and defeated them by a ­massive majority at our conference.”

A spokeswoman for Harriet Harman said the Labour deputy leader never had anything to do with PIE in her role as a junior legal officer at the NCCL from 1978 to 1982.


She added: “Harriet Harman regrets the existence of PIE and she regrets they had any involvement at all with NCCL.

“PIE were a vile organisation and she never did anything to promote their terrible cause.”



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paedophile-information-exchange-taxpayers-cash-3197625#ixzz2ulERjG14
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They can't claim they didn't know what those perverts were. What a bloody cesspit.

I remember explaining to some folk that while the political scandals in the US typically involved money, those in the UK typically involved sex.  

Then some time later, with Bill Clinton, they changed.

Just seen your post Bonny.

When both sides are at it, then why argue?  Better to keep it secret and all that.    

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100261647/nccl-paedophilia-scandal-harriet-harman-and-jack-dromey-will-have-to-resign/

That's worth reading. The whole thing is horrifying.

Have been reading about it on Wiki. What dirty little secrets some of these officials hold.   

Repugnant people.   I wonder how long this had been brewing before it was exposed in the media?

I shudder to think where this is going to end, Lily, there seems to be no end to the rottonness.

I shudder too, Bonny. It does make you wonder about a lot of things that have been going on of late.....

OMG.

With a bit of peering, I can see it's someone called Patrick Lock, who has been a long-standing Tory advisor. Seems Cameron was about to give him a peerage.

Unbelievable.   

I'm beyond being surprised at anything, sadly.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572495/No-10-aide-arrested-child-porn-Police-quiz-man-advised-Cameron-web-filters.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

No 10 aide arrested over child porn: Police quiz 62-year-old who advised Cameron on web filters and was tipped for peerage

Patrick Rock was one of David Cameron's closest aides

The 62-year-old was involved in drawing up policy on child porn

But he quit after allegations against him were revealed

Unmarried aristocrat was tipped for peerage only weeks ago
By JAMES CHAPMAN

PUBLISHED: 17:46 EST, 3 March 2014 | UPDATED: 18:20 EST, 3 March 2014



One of David Cameron's closest aides has resigned after being arrested on child pornography allegations.

Patrick Rock has been closely involved in drawing up Government policy on internet porn filters
.
He quit after the Prime Minister learned he was at the centre of a police probe over images of child abuse.

Detectives from the National Crime Agency searched No 10 and examined IT systems and offices used by Mr Rock, deputy director of the Downing Street policy unit.

Mr Rock was a protege of Margaret Thatcher and has held a series of senior posts in the Conservative Party. He has been close to Mr Cameron for many years.

Described as the Prime Minister's 'policy fixer', the unmarried 62-year-old had been tipped as a leading contender for a Conservative peerage only weeks ago.

His arrest and resignation from Downing Street, where he has worked since 2011, will send shockwaves through the party's high command. The Prime Minister is said to be 'extremely shocked'.

A friend said: 'He has known Patrick for a long time and never expected anything like this.'

Mr Rock was arrested last month after officials at No 10 were made aware of a 'potential offence relating to child abuse imagery', Mr Cameron's spokesman told the Daily Mail.

One well-placed source said Mr Rock had also been the subject of a sexual harassment complaint from a civil servant working in Downing Street, which is understood to have been passed to Mr Cameron's chief of staff Ed Llewellyn.

'There were accusations against him that didn't turn into a formal process. That has upset some people at No 10,' the source said.

Mr Cameron's relationship with Mr Rock goes back to the Home Office, where they both worked under Michael Howard in the 1990s.

Mr Rock, who has repeatedly tried to become an MP, is known in Westminster for coining the phrase 'Cows moo, dogs bark, Labour puts up taxes' used by the Tories in the 1970s.

The Prime Minister brought him back into Downing Street in 2011, a move welcomed by critics as heralding the return of a 'grown up' to the centre of government.

In the No 10 policy unit, he has taken a particular responsibility for home affairs issues and has also been involved in drawing up the Government's measures against internet pornography and child abuse imagery.







In a crusade spearheaded by the Prime Minister, Downing Street brokered a deal with internet firms which means that all 20million households connected to the internet are being contacted and asked whether they want family-friendly filters installed.

Downing Street also persuaded Google and other search engines to introduce changes that will prevent depraved images from being listed in results for more than 100,000 searches.

Downing Street confirmed that Mr Rock, who lives in West London, had been involved in the policy.



'The Prime Minister believes that child abuse imagery is abhorrent and that anyone involved with it should be properly dealt with under the law.'
Downing Street spokesman

'Patrick Rock was one of a number of advisers and officials involved in dealing with this issue – but the work was led by somebody else, and decisions were taken by ministers,' a spokesman said.

'On the evening of February 12, Downing Street was first made aware of a potential offence relating to child abuse imagery. It was immediately referred to the National Crime Agency.

'The Prime Minister was immediately informed and kept updated throughout. Patrick Rock was arrested at his home in the early hours of February 13, a few hours after Downing Street had reported the matter.

'Subsequently, we arranged for officers to come into No 10 and have access to all IT systems and offices they considered relevant.

'This is an ongoing investigation so it would not be appropriate to comment further, but the Prime Minister believes that child abuse imagery is abhorrent and that anyone involved with it should be properly dealt with under the law.'

The spokesman denied suggestions that colleagues in No 10 had been told Mr Rock was 'off sick', but only the Prime Minister and a handful of his most senior officials appear to have been told the reason for his absence.

Downing Street refused to comment on the allegation of sexual harassment, but insisted: 'All complaints are dealt with very seriously and are dealt with appropriately.


A pillar of the Tory establishment

Oxford-educated Patrick Rock comes from a noble background

By TOM KELLY and JAMES CHAPMAN

Born Patrick Robert John Rock de Besombes to a family of European aristocrats, he has worked for leading Tories for four decades.

But despite his impeccable social and political contacts, Oxford-educated Rock has repeatedly failed in his ambition to become a Conservative MP, despite being selected to fight safe seats.

Rock, 62 and unmarried, lives in a £500,000 flat in Parsons Green, West London. He was born in Kensington in 1951, a year after the marriage of his mother Gertrud and Egyptian-born father Robert John Rock de Besombes.

His paternal grandmother was a D'aigneaux, from a noble French family that originated in Normandy and boasts a coat of arms.

As a teenager, Rock boarded at the elite Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, winning a scholarship to Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied history.

After graduation he worked as Margaret Thatcher's political correspondence secretary in the then Prime Minister's Office and also as managing director of the Retail Consortium.

It is not clear when he shortened his name to plain Patrick Rock, but he used it while fighting the Woolwich East election in 1979, aged 28, which he lost despite increasing the Tory vote.

After losing Crewe and Nantwich in the 1983 election he was selected in a by-election to defend the seemingly impregnable safe seat of Portsmouth South in 1984, which had a Tory majority of over 12,000.

The Portsmouth News described him as 'Mrs Thatcher's protege' who had been hand-picked by Downing Street to contest the seat ahead of more impressive local candidates.

During the campaign he was described as 'likeable and energetic but slightly wet behind the ears'. His campaign went catastrophically wrong after he spoke on TV about a hospital that was not in the constituency.

Rock was unconcerned, declaring at a public meeting that he was 'absolutely certain' he would win the seat, predicting Labour would finish second and the Liberal SDP Alliance trail in third.

But after a 14 per cent swing against him, he was defeated by the Alliance's Mike Hancock in what was labelled the 'biggest election upset for years' and a 'great surprise' to Mrs Thatcher.

Newspaper reports described the defeated Rock leaving the count 'pale with shock'.

He blamed the defeat on too many Conservatives staying at home and Mrs Thatcher phoned him the following morning to assure him the defeat was not his fault. The following year, he was appointed to the Conservative Research Department.

He later worked as special adviser to Cabinet ministers in the Department of the Environment and then the Home Office, where he met David Cameron. The pair are famously said to have repaired to the Two Chairmen pub on the day of the death in 1994 of Labour leader John Smith, where they agreed Tony Blair would take over, leaving their party 'f*****'.

Rock again attempted to become an MP in 1990, applying for the safe Tory seat of Devizes, but failed to be selected.

He also worked in Brussels for EU Commissioner Chris Patten, with the responsibility for the western Balkans, before becoming a policy adviser at Downing Street.

Colleagues describe him as 'abrasive' and 'a commentator rather an a doer'. Another said his arrest over child abuse images was a 'terrific shock'.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572495/No-10-aide-arrested-child-porn-Police-quiz-man-advised-Cameron-web-filters.html#ixzz2ux98e2pb
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I doubt if he's the only one.

They rarely are?

Oh, in the name...how much worse can it get?

Surely the PM would have been told in advance or as it had happened?

No idea, Lily, but if Cameron's tried to cover this up, he may as well resign now.

His head of the Home Office would have known? Would he therefore not have been told? Even after the arrest was made?

I'm just asking what seems like common sense?

I wouldn't look to any of our supposed leaders right now for anything resembling common sense, Lily.

*Hits forehead* Yes, that's a better approach.