‘Political institutions failed to respond to historical claims of child sexual abuse but there was no evidence of an organised paedophile network at Westminster, an inquiry has found.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse said there had been a “significant problem” of deference towards people of public prominence.
A long-awaited report into allegations criticised political parties and police for not acting on information.
They turned a “blind eye”, it said.
The report found that institutions “regularly put their own reputations or political interests before child protection”.
It cited as an example the former Liberal party leader, Lord Steel, who was criticised for not acting on information that the late MP Cyril Smith had abused children.’
