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Northern Voices 8: Sir Squirrel Accused Sexbeast MBE
Northern Voices is a great little magazine in the tradition of Mole Express, Rochdale Alternative Paper, and indeed the news and gossip pages of New Manchester Review, Manchester Flash, and the cooperative version of our very own City Life. Time to bring some relevant items therein to a wider audience I think. The pages below are from NV8 and I print them for now without comment, save the headline, and the observation that the Elephant Trap and professed empathy with poor poor Smith are somethingly brilliant. Hats off!
16 comments:
It's so good to see that you have been continuing the groundwork laid own in the 1970s by the South African Intellignce Agencies?
Have you been paid by the BOSS yet?
I'd say Mr Wally Range that you are mistaken and missing the point. That in my view is the point of the author's careful prose.
The prose is so careful that it misses out on name. I think its inclusion will help clarify what was going on in the 1970s. Peter Hain.
Hain was accused and tried in court for bank robbery. He was almost certainly fitted up for this by the South African Security Services. It is probable that they were aided in this by either official or maverick personnel in Britain.
Thorpe, Hain and Smith were the three most well-known Liberals of the time.
The right-wing spooks were concerned that a high vote for the Liberals could deny the Tories a majority at the General Election just as it was perceived to have done in 1974.
In the meantime, there had been the Lib-Lab pact. The Libral were then even more in the firing line for these nutters.
I know exactly what kind of sly commnts I am going to open myself up by asking this, but I will do regardless. In all seriousness, don't you think it odd that allegtions against the three most idntifiable Libs of the time should all surface within months of each other.
To save myself the first reply to your imminent snotty reply. Thorpe acquittd. Hain acquitted. Smith not even charged.
This is despite the fact that there seems to have been a plot to dicredit him rather than one to protect him.
Strangely enough it is the "Smith not even charged" part of this trilogy that is of most interest to this soldier. The received wisdom actually is that Wilson - who was himself allegedly a target - did protect Thorpe.
But actually this is very likely protecting Thorpe from himself rather than from being framed. Getting him off not getting him into trouble for political ends.
These people - Hain excepted I think, though there are Labour people who still wouldn't trust him as far as they can throw him - had these faults and these susceptibilities to pressure.
That may be why the likes of TBA supported the candidacies and the parliamentary day-to-days of Cyril Smith. Over a barrel is the expression. And nowt to do with Heath and all that jazz.
There is not a bone in Smith's body that is actually part of any progressive alliance. More a right wing Tory than anything despite where he started his trajectory.
Hardly an enemy of a Tory future.
The stuff he allegedly did that is backed up with all the victim affidavits and police research was from the 60s when he was Labour. So this is not party political. It is a case of a man abusing his power over the powerless.
There are however other matters with no sexual element. Like for example using his power over the powerless workers at Spodden TBA. Like throwing his weight around to rush the Kiszko miscarriage trial. And so on. It is not a glittering career. It is septic and toxic and disgusting.
There are also questions - financial and otherwise - for the 40 years after you seem to think he was fitted up by Mossad or MI6 or RSA thugs where Squirrel would appear to have thought "fuck it, I'm invincible" and either done the old power over the powerless thing or been used by those in the know about his behaviour to further their ends.
Bullies and corrupt bullies at that ... I give you the Brothers Smith. And their apologists/hagiographers Hennigan and Rowen.
Now this IS getting interesting.
What Wally Range is saying very close to home. Perhaps he doesn't know how close in places.
BOSS were interested in Cyril - there was a lot of talk about that in the early 1970s.
Lets throw a few known facts into the mix...
Aparteid South Africa - a major asbestos mining nation with Turner & Newall interests.
Just south of the racist Rhodesia -that also had Turner & Newall mining operations (though aparently blockaded through UDI. Yeah right) RSA's BOSS and Rhodesia's CIO had close ties to UK officers in SIS.
Clockwork Orange was no fantasy either. Lots of paperwork to back it up.
Turner and Newall was close to the UK government and a big fish in africa. It also did lots of hush hush military stuff. (Look at the numbers of MOD maintenenace fitters dropping like flies today).
1974 was a VERY interesting year.
Cyril Smith was no mover and shaker. He was a useless fat fool completely out of his depth at Westminster. Of course he held a position within the national party, after all before him the whole set of Liberal MPs could fit in one taxi cab.
Chief Whip Smith. What a joke. As soon as Cyril had to show some resolve he got a tummy ache and hid in Birch Hill whilst he made phone calls to a few select hacks. He had a huge stack of 2p coins by his hospital bed. Nurses saw it all and remember the farcical events well.
The currency of spooks is reliable information. Clockwork Orange was based on damning information held to intimidate those politicians who needed leaning on, as and when.
False information and lies have little power to effectively influence politicians- even weak, gready,stupid or vain ones.
The truth hurts. Especially where the truth involves sex abuse and other crimes that should see mere mortals in prison.
What an interesting dossier?
Sex abuse, corruption, conspiracy, intimidation, electoral fraud?
Those who hold that sort of information have real power.
How was it used?
If all true, this has the makings of a great documentary.
Get out of this one spanker.
I thought Wally Range was getting into deep water with his conspiracy allegations, although I must say that they all are well documented elsewhere and by reputable sources.
Yours are simply off the wall. Your first paragraph makes no sense whatsoever. I don't just mean that I disagree, it literally makes no sense.
From then on - if Wilson was protecting Thorpe then he did a spectacularly pitiful job of it. Thorpe was tried before a jury and acquitted and yet his political career was effectively at an end. There's justice for you.
The point about Smith being the target of these trunped up charges is, I suspect, not that he himself was being set up but that the Liberal Party was getting smeared. Smith, Hain and Thorpe were definitely the best known Liberal names in the country, how better to attack the party than to pick off these names.
That is not outlandish. Theer is a huge amount of evidence that loose cannons in MI5, MI6 and the Armed Forces were going even further than this and plotting a coup against the Wilson government.
Wally is absolutely right when he says that the fears of these barmpots was fuelled by the result of the 1974 election. The Conservatives got the most votes and yet Labour won. Later the Liberals kept the Labour Party in governemnt by forming a pact with them.
This further infuriated these nutters and the Liberal Party became even fairer game.
Smith fought the 1970 general Election and a later by-election in 1972. At the time, the Liberal Party had just 6 MPs. There probably wasn't a seat in the country that they could be expected to win in a by-election and there was no way of knowing that one would occur in Rochdale the incumbent MP was still a relatively young man. Unless, of course, you know different.
Trumped up charges? Pray explain EHC?? That'll be why the litigious Smith Brothers threatened everybody but did not take action against Private Eye.
Wilson was TRYING to protect Thorpe. Possibly didn't succeed, although the guy got off and Scott never stopped protesting their guilt bunny wunny.
My information, albeit third and fourth hand, is that Smith knew (a) the Labour incumbent was poorly and (b) that he wouldn't get Labour selection and (c) therefore changed horses midstream before or as he was pushed.
Further information very welcome as ever.
Anon 23:03 throws away the year 1974.
1974 was when Cyril changed sides on the industrial stuff, no? When the case against him on those wee Scots boys was first made by local police? Quite a while before the Eye got onto it wasn't it?
When the heat was on with the police about Cambridge House, Cyril was still close to the Labour Party. (As Aldeman Mayor in 1966 Smith went Independent. He said it was over Council rent increases. Others suggest it was indeed over council houses but more to do with brown envelopes and building contracts, whatever that means).
After Cyril had been first questioned by the police he then pulled a favour with the then Labour MP Jack McCann. There was a late night meeting.
There is talk of shennaighans. The charges were dropped. But at what price? That is what will come out in the weeks and months to come no doubt.
Much of this went on under a Labour Government in the late 1960's. Was Jim Callaghan Home Secretary at the time?
As evidence of what an honourable and decent man was Cyril stood against Jack McCann in 1970. Jack won but had cancer. He was made Queen's Equirary and died in 1972.
A good number of decent Liberal left the party when Cyril joined. They were utterly disgusted at his bullying and devious politicking.
Then came Heath and then the 1974 elections that Wally Range and EHC quite rightly refer to.
Out came the information taken by Special Branch in the late 1960's.
Was this how Cyril was 'encouraged' to initiate negotiations to form the Lib Lab pact?
Ouch.
Cyril never changed sides on any 'industrial stuff'.
He was always a reactionary toryoid.
"Nice One Cyril". You even borrowed a song about someone else.
Famous for being a fat fool and friend of Don Estelle, Bernard Manning, Cllr Cricket's dad and Jim Bowen.
Super smashing great Rochdale. look what you could have won.
Sir Cyril Smith MBE - about as useful as a Bullseye speedboat on the Rochdale Canal
Further information, as requested.
I apologise, Chris, but most of it is in the form of facts, so it probably won't fit any of your criteria.
"Trumped up charges", actually that should read "no charges at all" or "trumped up allegations" as with both Thorpe and Hain.
Thorpe did not "get off" as you slyly assert, I think what you meant was that he was acquitted.
Read the biographies of Thorpe, David Steel and Jo Grimond and you will see that Smith was very reluctant to fight the by-election so can hardly be accused of switching sides just because he knew McCann was ill.
Yes, Jim Callaghan was Home Secretary in the late 1960s, but he was also Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer during that time. he was utterly crap at all of them (except Home Secretary where he wasn't crap but an outright racist disgrace).
I really don't think Smith was encouraged to initiate negotiations on the Lib-Lab pact, mostly on the basis that he was pretty much against it.
Most of the rest isn't worth replying to as it is incoherent abuse.
Dear John,
Cumbria may be a lovely place but even that distance from Rochdale doesb't excuse your twisted defence of Cyril and the things you, deep down, are sure he has done.
A Fib Dem dillemma - tell the truth or throw abuse. Ho hum, some things don't change. A proper chip off the old Smith block.
Many of the facts you confirm are accepted. But why oh why must you then try to switch attention?
Take your acceptance of Jim Callaghan being Home Secretary (followed by a daft rant). Why is your accepted fact of Jim Callaghan then being Home Secretary important? Because as Home Secretary Jimbo had responsiblilty over Special Branch and Section 5 of you know what.
But you did know that didn't you? Special Branch took Smith's DPP file in the late 60's from Lancashire Constabulary HQ in the late 60's.
And let's not talk about the later GMP connection yet shall we John?
Murky stuff that you are trying to muddy the waters on.
How do you sleep at night?
As for whether you "really don't think" that Smith was encourage to initiate Lib Lab negotiations. A nice non denial denial that John. What you "really think" doesn't really matter when the actual documents about Cyril Smith inititiating negotiations has been published under the 30 Year Rule.
As for your coy view that Cyril Smith was reluctant to fight the by-election. John, you know Cyril, and you know that is complete bollocks. Cyril's whole life has been about compensating for his personal inadequacies. A fat, thieving bully with no scruples whatsoever. Cyril was no blushing bride in his grasps for power.
The trouble with Westminster was simple- he was suddenly a little fish in a big pond. He couldn't cope. He was used to dominating Rochdale and often had information to hand through someone close to him stealing documents from the Town Hall's waste paper bins.
Or is that another scurroulous lie John? Mums the word.
Wrong again. Mind you, there are so many mindless accusations flying around here that sooner or later one is going to be right. About something.
I'll give you a clue. Why this particular tag?
Are you sure EHC? Perhaps Anon was talking to the organ grinder and not the monkey.
Oh, I'm sure.
Interesting stuff. Keep it coming.
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