Paedophile Claim Dossier 'Handled Properly'

Downing Street has rejected calls for a public inquiry into claims of historical sex abuse by politicians, but says any allegations should be fully investigated.

It came as former Home Secretary Lord Brittan said he had acted on a dossier he received in the 1980s alleging paedophile activity in Westminster.

The Tory peer issued a statement after Labour MP Simon Danczuk insisted he should "share his knowledge" about the file prepared by then-MP Geoffrey Dickens.

Lord Brittan initially said he had asked officials at the time to "look carefully" into the claims, but had heard nothing more.

However, he later issued a clarification after an independent review commissioned by the Home Office showed the material was assessed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and handed to police.

It also revealed files presented by Mr Dickens had "not been retained" by the department - but concluded that all information received between 1979 and 1999 had been handled correctly.

Lord Brittan initially stated he had asked officials to look into the issue, and did not "recall being contacted further about these matters by Home Office officials or by Mr Dickens or by anyone else".

But the report included an extract from a letter that was sent from Lord Brittan to Mr Dickens on March 20, 1984 explaining what had been done in relation to the files.

The then-home secretary wrote: "You drew my attention to a number of allegations concerning paedophilia when you called here on November 23 and in subsequent letters.

"I am now able to tell you that, in general terms, the view of the Director of Public Prosecutions is that two of the letters you forwarded could form the basis for enquiries by the police and they are now being passed to the appropriate authorities.

"In other cases there either seems to be inadequate evidence to pursue prosecution, for example the lady who wrote about PIE (Paedophile Information Exchange) advertising but did not secure any example of the material complained of, or they have already been dealt with in some way by the courts or the police."

The review concluded: "The letter confirms that the information was considered at the time and that any matters requiring investigation were referred to the police."

In response, Lord Brittan said: "The Home Office independent review is entirely consistent with the action I set out in my earlier statement.

"Whilst I could not recall what further action was taken 30 years ago, the information contained in this report shows that appropriate action and follow-up happened."

According to Mr Danczuk, who has investigated claims of abuse by ex-MP Cyril Smith, the dossier compiled by Mr Dickens contained information about the Paedophile Information Exchange (Pie) and abuse networks operating around Westminster.

Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on Monday, Mr Danczuk warned against child abuse allegations being "swept under the carpet" by politicians.