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'Paedophile hysteria' and the lessons Westminster should draw from the Catholic church
By Cristina Odone
Theresa May has called for a wide-ranging inquiry into historic paedophile abuse by politicians. Only ten days ago the Home Secretary had refused to even contemplate such an inquiry – but that was before the public mood turned ugly, and demands for truth and transparency grew loud. Faced with such hostility, the normally cool Mrs May lost her nerve. Three developments in the long, long-running "elite paedophile ring" saga account for the public's change of heart. Rolf Harris got a sentence of only five years and nine months; Lord Brittan changed his story twice about what he did with the dossier of evidence of a Westminster paedophile gang; and more details emerged surrounding the late Cyril Smith MP's child abuse. Newsnight interviewed last night the whistleblower who had first come out with the allegations against paedophiles who abused their power to prey on young vulnerable children, most of them in care. Peter McKelvie expressed his relief that, after more than 30 years, his evidence – traumatic stories from victims and eyewitnesses – was being taken seriously. Justice may be done, he concluded. For some victims it will be a case of too little, too late: their lives lie in ruin, having never recovered from the horror of abuse. For some, though, this does not mark the beginning of a campaign for justice but a witch hunt. Frank Furedi argued that this lynch-mob mentality would end up with innocent men being wrongly accused of the most heinous crime. Even Fraser Nelson worried that MPs were guilty of a kneejerk reaction in instigating a proper inquiry. These men are wrong. The only danger we face with this inquiry is if it does not probe deeply enough and lead to a root and branch reform of one of the most powerful institutions in the land. Swap the Catholic Church for Westminster, and the way forward is clear: nothing short of thorough investigation, sincere soul-searching and public penance will satisfy the victims and their supporters. This is a long and painful via Crucis that can last for years, as Pope Francis showed with his public plea for forgiveness yesterday. The Catholic paedophile priests scandal could bear one good fruit: a lesson to those other men of power and influence who have abused the innocent – MPs. The same impulses drive both lots of men: the temptation to abuse their position and the victims' trust; a determination to protect their own kind. This has led to a culture of secrecy shrouding both the Church's abusers and Parliament's. The Church did not act fast enough in its reform: too many bishops colluded in concealing the foul priest abusers, or in moving them to a parish where they had no reputation. As a result the entire institution came into disrepute. Politicians must not do the same. The consequences will be as serious for Westminster – and more far-reaching.
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