Cyril Smith

Amen to that Joan. If you are not protected under the guardianship of the state, then who are you safe with?! We also had my parents (they were young grandparents in their mid forties) as guardians to our two, just in case! My mother who was a war widow did the same for me, again, just in case!

When I was a kid (born 1945) we kids all knew there was something terrifying about being sent to an orphanage. I'm not sure what we thought we knew.

Because of this, the moment we started a family we made enquiries among friends and relatives about who would take our child/children if DH and I died together. We got an agreement with a friend and put it in our will.

I think almost all of us on here are utterly horrified by what the abusers did, the lifelong effects on their victims, and the shameful cover-up by authorities. I just hope it never happens again. At least victims will be believed nowadays.

The thing with CS that really appalls me is that these young boys were in a home run by the local authority, presumably without family or friends who, for whatever reasons, couldn't/wouldn't care for them. They were in all probability alone in the world. So along comes the trusted State to take over that duty of care, and hey presto the very people (including high ranking politicians!) who should have protected these youngsters were in fact turning a blind eye to this odious man, and for political, ambitious, personal and who knows what else reasons chose to ignore the terror and horror these children were subjected to!! - It just beggars belief that this could have happened even in 1972, those children had nowhere to go, no one to protect them - the state let them down BIG TIME, and as such the state and the people in authority who KNEW this was going on and chose to ignore it from whatever political party they come from should pay a price for this total dereliction of duty. You simply cannot ignore wrecking peoples lives, there must be a day of reckoning here.

Cyril Smith was a disgusting man. He may well have been abused himself as a boy, and over ate and did the same things to boysthat had been done to him [this is often the case.]Whatever made him this way, he should have been stopped early on, and it seems the police were hampered in their inquiries by the Establishment. Were lots of other senior people 'high-up' involved? or was it simply seen as a black mark against a politician that may well unravel the whole of the Liberal [and other] parties?As with Jimmy Savile, another disgusting man, people DID know about him but no action was taken. It makes you wonder exactly who was involved doesn't it? For all these poor boys, it is so important that the truth comes out now, even though it's too little and too late for true justice for them.If anyone on this site can't see that, it makes you wonder what kind of person they are.

Oh, sorry, I didn't hear it, but I can well understand him breaking down after hearing such harrowing accounts directly from the men it happened to.

Did anyone hear the interview on Radio 4 this afternoon with the MP for Rochdale who wrote the book that started this whole enquiry.
To condense it, they had to stop the interview because the poor man broke down in tears on the radio when he got to the part where he was talking about what victims had told him about the 'sainted' CM.

Jolly good!

'bye.

As I found the OP and some subsequent comments! No comment about how unhelpful the post immediately preceding yours was? Enough of this. I have far more useful and interesting things to do than get involved in yet another Jingl-centric slanging match!

I found your post extremely unhelpful and quite offensive, mcem.

No! You've got it wrong. I wasn't bored. I felt GN was getting boring. It has turned out to be an interesting thread.

When are you going to start one mcwhatever?

The "don't stuffing care" was the result of one too many exceedingly intelligent in their own estimation, people returning to put the boot in. Again.

Put all of 30 seconds thought into OP and doesn't stuffing care. Says it all really. Heartless stirring on a highly emotive subject for her own entertainment because she was bored. Disgraceful!

For some reason, CS was above criticism. Perhaps he knew too much about other Liberal politicians. Once, I took exception to one of his less-than-Liberal pronouncements (nothing to do with paedophilia), wrote a letter to the Lib Dem News and, surprise, surprise, it wasn't printed. But then, I started out as a Social Democrat and CS was one of the most prominent opponents of the merger of the two parties.

Having read all these posts, I had decided not to comment or get involved in what has turned into a rather unpleasant slanging match, but I just wanted to say that up to a point I can see where Jingle is coming from and it's true that it's a sad fact that there are people who might/will jump on this bandwagon for spurious reasons. However having said that CS had a dreadful 'dark' side, and was on the quiet a truly dreadful man and what he did to these poor children was absolutely horrible aided and abetted by the 'establishment' who, in my opinion, are as equally guilty. (as with Saville) He should have been stopped, investigated and prosecuted at the time and it is shameful that this wasn't done. I can remember donkeys years ago (I was 15) while on holiday, a friends father took a 'shine' to me, and it certainly made me feel VERY uncomfortable. Nothing happened and the holiday was only two weeks, I obviously didn't say anything (who would have believed me?!!) and that was that. The point is that although it certainly didn't blight my life, I never forgot it and for years was always wary round older men, so what those poor boys must have felt/feel over something a million times worse is very relevant and I think WOULD affect your emotional life and actually does need investigating and admitted to even though CS is dead, if for no other reason that it stops other would be molesters for doing it again - you WILL get found out and punished.

I think it has somewhat become a case of "get David Steele".

Apparently David Steele - in the seventies I think, questioned Smith about the rumours, but although he admitted to administering corporal punishments to boys' bare behinds, that was perfectly legal then. And so David Steele had no way to take it any further.

I agree with TriciaF that residential provision for children needs to be supervised better. I don't agree that all the parents of children in residential care have given up on them.

The DM may have an anti lib dem agenda, but I don't. My concern is that the party failed to act responsibly in regard to Cyril Smith.

I think there's a danger here of the Cyril Smith case, horrible as it is, being used for political purposes. ie "Get the LibDems." Something of a red herring.
Whereas there are, sadly, many more examples of abuse of vulnerable children which aren't headlines in the Daily Mail.
It's the system of residential provision for children whose parents have given up on them which needs to be supervised better. Difficult to find suitable staff, because it's a very stressful job.

Thanks GrannyTwice. You're right - I wasn't being personal. I was making a linguistic - maybe semantic - point.

Cari - shall I take the email as read?

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

You have no idea of my knowledge on the subject.

At least jingle these 'heavily world weary ageing social workers' have some knowledge to air - unlike some, and that IS a personal comment

Anyone else want to come out with boxing gloves on?

I'm up for it.

Too late sweetheart. I've started.