Britain's shame: Evidence mounts of child-abuse cover-up

LONDON — A toxic mix of misuse of power and official silence has become Britain's shame as the country faces up to a growing web of evidence that the abuse of vulnerable children by powerful men was covered up for decades.

Several lawmakers said Tuesday that former detectives and intelligence officers should be guaranteed protection from prosecution if they speak out about child abuse by senior police, politicians other prominent people.

On Monday, the BBC's "Newsnight" program reported that an ex-detective had told it that a lawmaker, Cyril Smith, was arrested in the early 1980s as part of an investigation into child-sex parties, but was released hours later.

He said officers were ordered to hand over notebooks and video footage from their undercover operation, and were told they would be violating the Official Secrets Act if they revealed what had happened.

The BBC did not identify the former detective because of the legal threat hanging over him.

After Smith died in 2010, prosecutors revealed that in 1970 eight men had accused the Liberal lawmaker of abusing them as teens. The prosecutors said Smith was never charged, but should have been.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Tuesday that the BBC was alleging "very, very serious dereliction of duty and of wrongdoing" against police investigating "some of the most grotesque crimes imaginable."

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