Home Secretary Theresa May is to make a statement to the House of Commons today on alleged child abuse at Westminster in the 1980s following claims there "may well have been" a political cover-up.
She will brief MPs on the Home Office's investigation into the allegations after her department admitted more than 100 official files relating to claims of child abuse by politicians have been lost or destroyed.
These files are in addition to a dossier alleging child abuse involving powerful and famous figures at Westminster in the 1980s that is also missing.
The allegations include claims of abuse by the late Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith and alleged paedophile activity at parties attended by politicians at the Elm Guest House in Barnes, southwest London.
Sky News understands Mrs May will announce some form of investigation when she makes her statement this afternoon.
It is likely to focus on whether public bodies failed in their duty of care towards children.
A Home Office spokesman said Mrs May's statement "will address the two key public concerns.
"First, the Home Office's response in the 1980s to papers containing allegations of child abuse.
"And second, the wider issue of whether public bodies and other institutions have taken seriously their duty of care towards children."
Further pressure was put on the Government after former Cabinet Minister Lord Tebbit said there could have been a political cover-up.
Lord Tebbit, who served in a series of senior ministerial posts under Margaret Thatcher, said the instinct at the time was to protect "the system" and not delve too deeply into uncomfortable allegations.
"At that time I think most people would have thought that the establishment, the system, was to be protected and if a few things had gone wrong here and there that it was more important to protect the system than to delve too far into it.
"That view, I think, was wrong then and it is spectacularly shown to be wrong because the abuses have grown," he told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show.
Asked if he thought there had been a "big political cover-up" at the time, he said: "I think there may well have been."
Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered an internal review at the Home Office to "find answers" about the missing files.
But Labour say the review is not enough and are calling for a full-scale public inquiry, led by independent experts, to restore public confidence.
The internal review will be led by the Home Office's top civil servant Mark Sedwill.
He said the 114 potentially relevant documents - from the period 1979 to 1999 - were "presumed destroyed, missing or not found".
Home Affairs Select Committee chair Keith Vaz has asked Mr Sedwill to appear before the committee on Tuesday to answer questions.
He will be asked how the paperwork could have been lost in the first place, and to explain the scope of his investigation.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/may-statement-child-abuse-claims-233118164.html
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