Tom Watson’s Campaign to Expose Historic Child Abuse

By A. Dean
AO Advocates
November 8, 2012

http://www.aoadvocates.co.uk/child-abuse-general/tom-watsons-campaign-to-expose-historic-child-abuse/

Another week passes and a new front opens in the expanding investigations into child sexual abuse in our society.

Labour MP Tom Watson’s high-profile push the past two weeks for the government to revisit its inquiry into a north Wales paedophile ring operating in the 1970s and 1980s has met with early success. Watson first raised the issue in a question to David Cameron on 24 October, when he confronted the Prime Minister about the potential links between this paedophile ring and “a senior aide to a former Prime Minister”. Cameron parried Watson’s question, calling the allegations “very difficult and complex”, but the issue has not gone away.

On the contrary. In fact it has been revealed that the Prime Minister in question was Margaret Thatcher, and the senior aide the late Tory MP Sir Peter Morrison, though details remain hazy. Watson is controlling the dialogue surrounding this issue and his call for an inquiry has Cameron and the Conservatives playing defence in the media. Cameron has been travelling in the Middle East the past several days but found it necessary to announce that additional inquiries into the north Wales paedophile ring would in fact be opened, in line with Watson’s request.

We commend Tom Watson for his well-organised campaign to reopen these investigations into north Wales, and for his advocacy on behalf of survivors. He recently penned a frank letter to David Cameron, congratulating him on initiating the two new inquiries but also warning that they must be complete and in-depth. As Watson writes in this letter, “There should be no historic sexual abuse of children which is off limits to this investigation”.

Watson also says: “Victims have an absolute right to the whole truth”.

We agree absolutely.