David Steel has resigned from the Liberal Democrats after being named in an inquiry attacking the political establishment for turning “a blind eye” to allegations of child sexual abuse.
The former Liberal party leader was cited in the long-awaited report after he admitted failing to pass on claims against his colleague Cyril Smith, even though he believed them to be true.
Lord Steel told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) he considered them to be “past history” – and later recommended Smith for a knighthood.
Explaining his decision to quit, Lord Steel attacked Lib Dem figures calling for him to be suspended for a second time, despite a previous investigation in Scotland finding no further action was required.
“I am told that others are threatening to resign if a new investigation is started,” he said.
“I wish to avoid any such turmoil in my party and to prevent further distress to my family.”
And he protested: “Knowing all I know now, I condemn Cyril Smith’s actions towards children. Not having secured a parliamentary scalp, I fear that I have been made a proxy for Cyril Smith.”
The inquiry, led by Professor Alexis Jay, found no evidence of a coordinated “paedophile ring” in Westminster, following claims by the jailed fantasist Carl Beech.
The report also concluded there was no proof such a network was covered up by security services or police, but said institutions “put their own reputations or political interests before child protection”.
And it stated: “Lord Steel should have provided leadership. Instead, he abdicated his responsibility.
“He looked at Cyril Smith not through the lens of child protection but through the lens of political expediency … when attending the inquiry, far from recognising the consequences of his inaction, Lord Steel was completely unrepentant.”
Richard Scorer, a lawyer representing eight of Smith’s victims, said: “Steel’s total inaction after being told by Smith himself that he had molested young boys is unforgivable, most of all for those victims whose abuse he could have stopped.
“To suggest Steel is a scapegoat, as some have done, is grasping at straws – a pathetic attempt to excuse a man who admitted he knowingly turned a blind eye to Smith’s crimes.”
During one hearing, Lord Steel denied “hiding his head in the sand” over the allegations, but said he “assumed” the former Rochdale MP had abused teenagers at a hostel dating back to the 1960s.
After revealing he would also resign from the House of Lords – under a change he himself introduced in 2012 – he attacked the inquiry’s findings.
“Nowhere do IICSA explain what powers I was supposed to possess to investigate 14-year-old allegations against someone (who at the time of the actions alleged was not even a member of my party),” he said.
Lord Steel also said he had been denied the right of “clarification” on his testimony, saying: “I had difficulty hearing their questions.”
