Former Liberal leader Lord Steel may be expelled by his party for failing to report suspicions that fellow MP Sir Cyril Smith was abusing boys in care, it was reported today.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is due to publish its report next week, and the Daily Telegraph said it was “set to castigate Lord Steel” for not telling the authorities what he feared about Sir Cyril.
Lord Steel was a major political figure in the Seventies and Eighties when he allied his party with the SDP, but friends reportedly fear he will be made a “scapegoat”.
The Lib Dems declined to comment and Lord Steel was said to be away in Africa.
Last year the Scottish Lib Dems said he was being suspended during the child abuse investigation.
