Half-truths about Cyril Smith

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who arrived in this country well after Cyril Smith was active in Rochdale politics, would have done well not to take on trust everything the Labour MP Simon Danczuk and the conservative Daily Mail have written about the man. The Indy has not printed my response to her article, so I copy it here:

Whatever Cyril Smith did when he had access to schools and boys homes while on Rochdale council, it should be remembered that for most of that time (1952-1966) he was a Labour councillor. Indeed, he was elected mayor of the town in spite of concerns having being raised with the Labour hierarchy by at least one social worker.

Of course, David Steel is still alive and can be questioned while it is unlikely that anyone in Rochdale Labour has survived from those days.