Leon Brittan was 'against banning paedophile rights group'

Leon Brittan, who died in January

Notes from a 1983 meeting between then-home secretary Leon Brittan and a campaigning MP have revealed the peer objected to banning a paedophile rights group.

Documents obtained by the BBC under Freedom of Information laws, also include a letter from Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens in which he said he "shall not rest" until the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was outlawed.

Lord Brittan, who died in January, has been accused of being involved in child sex abuse after it emerged he had been questioned by police in 2014 in connection with an historical rape allegation.

And questions have been raised over his handling of the issue during his time in office as a 40-page dossier by the late Mr Dickens alleging high-level paedophile activity in Westminster, known as the "Dickens dossier", went missing.  (more...)

Leon Brittan was 'against banning paedophile rights group'

Detailed coverage:

Leon Brittan and Geoffrey Dickens' notes from 1980s released

Brittan refused call to ban paedophile support group PIE: Tory said he wanted to see if existing laws would be adequate to deal with the group