To wonder why no one seems bothered by links to labour MPs + paedophile rights organisation?

[starlady]

The Mail has published new claims about Harriet Harman, Jack Dromey and Patricia Hewitt supporting The paedophile information exchange. Thought it was a rehash of an old story, but I've looked at the evidence published, and it looks as if harriet etc do have some explaining to do. I won't link to the Mail, but the Guardian gives a more nuanced point of view here

www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/feb/20/dailymail-harrietharman
What I'm finding puzzling is twitter is not bothered! And I haven't seen anything on mumsnet. Isn't anyone bothered? No wonder jimmy Saville et al got away with their actions. I am a labour voter myself, so I'm not trying to be partisan and stir up trouble, but the silence on this disturbs me.

I've explained everything very fully on this thread. Or just read/watch the media.

The PIE attempted to legitimise child abuse. Their decline and fall shows they were spectacularly unsuccessful in doing so.

Why has it taken so many years before the public was made aware of all this, since the press at the time must have known about it?

I think she is in a difficult position. For a politician, an error of judgement is very important.

An error of judgment that she made in her 20s, some 30 years ago? Really? Were you out demanding apologies from Thatcher for her error of judgment in repeatedly inviting Savile to Chequers, and for insisting on knighting him against the advice of her Civil Servants? Which do you think is the greater error of judgment: facilitating the access of a paedophile to vulnerable young children, or working for an organisation that had PIE as one of of thousands of affiliates?

PIE members were very successful indeed in getting what they wanted in the 70s and 80s, until they were prosecuted and stopped.

'insisting on knighting him against the advice of her Civil Servants?'

I didn't know she did. Did Thatcher know Savile was a paedophile? I don't know.

"Why has it taken so many years before the public was made aware of all this, since the press at the time must have known about it?"

Maybe because they understood the distinction between "giving a group the right to speak" and "agreeing with and supporting the aims and intentions of said group."

A nuance that seems beyond many posters on this thead.

claig, you ask why it has taken so many years before the public was made aware of all this. But as a number of us have posted, people DID know about it at the time, loads of people. If it's news to you, that's either because you were too young to be aware of it, or because you were in a community that didn't pay much attention. Of course, it would get much greater publicity these days, because the social climate has changed.

I didn't know she did. Did Thatcher know Savile was a paedophile? I don't know"

Well, everyone else seems to have known- so she would certainly have been briefed.

Claig I think Mrs Thatcher was warned against knighting Savill on the grounds of general weirdness.

If Thatcher had worked for a group that had a paedophile group affiliated to it and this paedophile group was campaigning to have age of consent laws changed and the organisation that Thatcher worked for had lobbied for the age of consent to be reduced to 14 or ten provided it is demonstrated that consent was clearly given by the child then we would never have heard the end of it and rightly so.

ooh! look, Claig

So was the Mail's coverage of that just a nasty, mean, baseless witchhunt against Thatcher?

If Thatcher didn't know, it'll be entirely down to her not reading the security service briefings on her regular guest.

No. Because Jimmy Saville was a paedophile.

Harriet Harman isn't.

Erm, Pinochet, anyone? Thatcher's support for that twisted blight on humanity is light years beyond anything Hewitt, Harman might have done, and the Mail knows it

I wonder if she'll apologise. Difficult one. I'd say she might just.

Saville was also great mates with prince Charles aswell don't forget. He acted as di and Charlie's marriage councillor .....

It says a lot for our security services.

Prime minister and the heir to the throne. How lapse

The media pundits aren't speculating either way. Wonder if the bookies are taking odds.

I think the Queen ought to apologise for knighting Saville.

My internet crashed.

Thanks for the link, Martorana, I didn't know that.
There was strange stuff going on with Savile, and it is odd that thatcher had him as a guest so often etc. I am not sure that all of these senior people actually kept thatcher in the loop on all of this stuff, but maybe they did.

The PIE/NCCL is a separate matter and I think it was a gross error of judgement by NCCL to have PIE as an affiliate and Hewitt has apologised.

I think there are questions of judgement to be asked about other people who worked for NCCL too.

"Queen Comes Clean"

Mind you, the Pope has apologised, so it's not that daft an idea.

"We are truly sorry that we have knighted people who ought not to have been knighted. They include.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................."

Saville also went to see and chat to the pope and was a peace envoy in Israel.

Gosh the security was lapse.

13 years for Xmas at the thatcher abode. Thank goodness she didn't have young children