"Editor explains why he didn't publish Barbara Castle's paedophile dossier"

fishypants · Jul 17, 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/jul/15/daily-star-sunday-cyril-smith

The Daily Star Sunday published an interesting exclusive at the weekend: "Second paedo dossier cover-up after cop raid".

It revealed that a former newspaper editor, Don Hale, was handed a dossier at some time in the early 1980s about 16 high-profile political figures who appeared sympathetic to the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE).

The document was given to Hale, the then editor of the Bury Messenger, by the late Barbara Castle, the veteran Labour politician.

At the time, Castle was a member of the European parliament for Greater Manchester after her 34-year stint as MP for Blackburn.

According to the Star's report, once Hale began to investigate the claims made in the dossier "an astonishing operation kicked in to silence the claims."

First, Hale said he was visited by the Liberal MP for Rochdale, Cyril Smith, who tried to persuade the journalist that it was "all poppycock".

Second, Hale said special branch officers arrived at the Messenger's office, showed him a D-notice and warned him of imprisonment if he failed to hand over the dossier.

Hale had agreed with Castle that he would run a story the week after she handed him her documents. He was quoted by the Star as saying:

"Obviously, I had to contact certain members named [in the dossier] and the home office for their responses.

Each call was met with shock horror as to why I should be wasting my time asking these 'daft' questions as nothing was happening within parliament.

When I explained the detailed nature of the information available and that I couldn't reveal my source, you could almost hear a pin drop as officials were unsure as to what to say or do."

Then came the special branch visit. Hale said: "I was sworn to secrecy by special branch at the risk of jail if I repeated any of the allegations.

"When I met Barbara again, she apologised for the 'hassle' caused and reluctantly admitted she was fighting a formidable foe."

The revelations follow revelations about a dossier compiled by the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens detailing an alleged Westminster paedophile ring.

Don Hale later became editor of the Matlock Mercury where he successfully campaigned for the release of Stephen Downing, a man wrongly imprisoned for 27 years for murder. Downing's conviction was quashed and declared unsafe by the appeal court in 2001.

Hale was named journalist of the year in the 2001 What the Papers Say awards and received the OBE for his campaigning journalism.

Since leaving the Mercury in 2001 Hale has written several books, mostly about crime.

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"Editor explains why he didn't publish Barbara Castle's paedophile dossier"

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