Breaking the Code

by Gyles Brandreth

  In 2012, Graham Nicholls, a trade union official and former member of the Chester Trades Council, sent an intriguing letter to The Guardian. ‘After the 1987 general election,’ he wrote, ‘around 1990, I attended a meeting of Chester Labour Party where we were informed by the agent, Christine Russell, that Peter Morrison would not be standing in 1992. He had been caught in the toilets at Crewe station with a fifteen-year-old boy. A deal was struck between Labour, the local Tories, the local press and the police that if he stood down at the next election the matter would go no further.’ I have no reason to disbelieve Mr Nicholls, but I am surprised I heard nothing at all of this at the time.

  The first, and only, official acknowledgement of my predecessor’s possible involvement in child abuse came my way in 1996 when William Hague, then Secretary of State for Wales, came up to me in the House of Commons to let me know that he had ordered an inquiry into allegations of child abuse in care homes in North Wales between 1974 and 1990 – and that Peter’s name might feature in connection with the Bryn Estyn home in Wrexham, twelve miles from Chester. Sir Ronald Waterhouse QC, a retired High Court judge, was appointed to head the inquiry. It took three years, cost £12 million and was reckoned ‘the biggest investigation ever held in Britain into allegations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children who passed through the care system’.

  When the Waterhouse Report appeared, it made grim reading. It named and criticised almost 200 people, for either abusing children or failing to offer them sufficient protection. It found credible evidence of ‘widespread sexual abuse, including buggery’ and recognised the existence of a paedophile ring in the Wrexham/Chester area, but found no evidence ‘to establish that there was a wide-ranging conspiracy involving prominent persons and others with the objective of sexual activity with children in care’. Sir Peter Morrison’s name did not feature.

  The Waterhouse Report came in for a lot of stick. Some felt its remit had been too narrow and it had let too many people off the hook. Others felt quite differently. In 2005, Richard Webster, a writer of some standing, published The Secret of Bryn Estyn: The Making of a Modern Witch Hunt. Webster was highly critical of the Waterhouse Inquiry, arguing that abuse scandals can be ‘phenomena created by public hysteria’ and detailing cases of apparently innocent care workers imprisoned as a consequence of false or unreliable accusations elicited by police trawling operations.

  The accusations against Peter Morrison surfaced again in 2012. Rod Richards (junior minister at the Welsh Office when the Waterhouse Inquiry was being set up) said publicly that Morrison had been named as a regular and unexplained visitor to Bryn Estyn. Channel 4 reported that Morrison had been ‘seen’ driving away from Bryn Estyn ‘with a boy in his car’. And the BBC’s Newsnight – along with others – wrongly suggested that Lord McAlpine was somehow involved in child abuse, because someone somewhere along the line had confused McAlpine with Morrison.

  To calm the furore (or to prolong the hysteria, if you take the Richard Webster view), the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary announced further inquiries into both the original inquiry and any further allegations. Meanwhile, the police were still trawling. In November 2013, they announced that in the past year 235 people had contacted them with information about alleged abuse in care homes in north Wales and they were ‘pursuing a large number of active lines of enquiry’. This month the BBC reported that 275 people had made allegations and forty-nine possible suspects were being investigated.

  Maybe, eventually, Peter Morrison will be nailed beyond reasonable doubt. But, for now, what do we actually know? Not much.

  We do know that in the late 1980s, a Sunday Mirror reporter, Chris House, received a tip-off from police officers who said that Peter Morrison had twice been caught ‘cottaging’ in public lavatories with underaged boys and had been released with a caution. When House confronted Morrison, Morrison threatened legal action. Ten years later, another investigative journalist, Nick Davies, followed up the story and confirmed with the police that Morrison had indeed ‘been picked up twice’, but added that ‘there appeared to be no trace of either incident in any of the official records’.

  Was there a cover-up? The story would certainly have been embarrassing. At the beginning of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, Peter Morrison was in the Whips’ Office, as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and pairing whip. He went on to become a junior minister and then a minister of state. In 1990 he became Mrs Thatcher’s PPS. For three years, from 1986 to 1989, he was deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. He was a force to be reckoned with: he was at the heart of the establishment, he was close to the Prime Minister – and, throughout this period, his sister was a friend and lady-in-waiting to the Queen. (Happily, she still is. Indeed, in 2013 Her Majesty made Mary Morrison a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, the highest rank of the highest order of chivalry in the Queen’s personal gift.) This association with the palace adds an undeniable extra frisson to the story. That said, I doubt that Dame Mary knew anything about her younger brother’s private life. It’s not the sort of thing a chap discusses with his sister.

  At Buckingham Palace it would certainly not have worried anybody that Peter Morrison was homosexual – so many who work there are – but child abuse is quite a different matter. Lord Charteris, a devoted courtier and the Queen’s former private secretary, came to Chester at Peter’s invitation to talk to members of the Conservative Association. I doubt that he would have come if he believed Peter to be a paedophile.

  What did Mrs Thatcher know of Peter Morrison’s alleged dark side? When I talked to her about him, I felt she had the measure of the man. She knew he was homosexual. She knew he was a drinker. She was fond of him, clearly, but told me that he had ruined himself through ‘self-indulgence’ – much as Reginald Maudling had done a generation earlier. When it came to the love lives of colleagues, Mrs T. was not judgemental (she was quite ready to forgive Cecil Parkinson for his affair with Sara Keays), but I am sure she would not have countenanced a child abuser as her Parliamentary Private Secretary – let alone have authorised a ‘cover-up’ on his behalf.

  So, if there was a cover-up, who managed it? Peter was a whip and whips do look after their own, so was it the Whips’ Office? That has been the suggestion of the week – prompted by a clip from an old TV interview.

  In 1995, in a BBC documentary, Westminster’s Secret Service, a former whip, Tim Fortescue,707 said this:

  Anyone with any sense, who was in trouble, would come to the whips and tell them the truth, and say, ‘Now, I’m in a jam, can you help?’ It might be debt, it might be … a scandal involving small boys, or any kind of scandal in which a member seemed likely to be mixed up. They’d come and ask if we could help, and if we could, we did. And we would do everything we can because we would store up brownie points … and if I mean, that sounds a pretty, pretty nasty reason, but it’s one of the reasons because if we could get a chap out of trouble then, he will do as we ask forevermore…

  ‘A scandal involving small boys’ – what did he mean? He can’t have been thinking about Peter Morrison because Tim Fortescue was a whip more than forty years ago, at the beginning of the 1970s, before Peter was even an MP. Did Fortescue have another case in mind? Is child abuse endemic at Westminster? According to a former victim of abuse, now aged sixty, quoted in yesterday’s Daily Mail, back in the day, young men ‘were picked up at King’s Cross penniless and handed out like pieces of meat to MPs, celebrities, judges and others in the wealthy elite of London. Many of these guys were under sixteen and had run away from children’s homes. They were promised a roof and work, but soon discovered they were being groomed for sex with paedophiles.’

  Is it all true? Was there really a paedophile ring at Westminster involving ministers and MPs? And was there a cover-up? Norman Tebbit, among others, now thinks perhaps there was. As I write, the government has promised yet another inquiry, so in the fullness of time we may find out. Who knows?

  All I can say
is that in my time in the Whips’ Office we helped people with mental problems, marital problems, drink problems, financial problems, and more besides, but I don’t know of any case where we covered up for anyone who we believed to be guilty of a serious criminal offence.

  Reflecting on all this makes me glad that I published this book, even though, in doing so, I know that I upset colleagues who felt I had betrayed them. I broke the whips’ code of silence – something no whip had ever done before. Whips never talk about what they do or how they set about it. That’s the rule. As the Chief Whip pointed out to me at the time, ‘Our mystery is part of our potency.’

  But mystery makes for mischief. Do we want government run like an episode of House of Cards? The trouble with operating in secret is that it encourages those not-in-the-know to believe that dark deeds are being done in the murky corridors of power. Occasionally perhaps they are, but mostly they are not. On Monday of this week I went to the party for Sandra Howard’s new novel. It was Michael Howard’s birthday and a lot of the old gang were there – Ken Clarke, Norman Lamont, John Gummer, Peter Lilley, Norman Fowler, several of them, of course, whips in their day and all of them, in my estimation, good people. In my experience, most politicians are.

  706 It did. Kenneth Clarke and David Willetts were among the ‘male, pale and stale’ members of the government who were dropped in favour of fresher, female faces, and Michael Gove stepped down as Education Secretary to become Chief Whip.

  707 Trevor ‘Tim’ Fortescue, 1916–2008, MP for Liverpool Garston 1966–74.

  INDEX

  A/Drinks meetings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Abbott, Diane 1

  Ackroyd, Peter 1

  Adams, Gerry 1

  Adler, Larry 1

  Aids 1, 2, 3, 4n

  Ainsworth, Peter 1

  Aitken, Jonathan Cabinet prospects 1

  Conference party 1

  evensong address 1

  GB’s first impression 1

  and Nixon 1, 2

  prison sentence likely 1

  resignation 1

  Stephen Milligan as PPS 1, 2

  supper parties 1, 2, 3

  Treasury Chief Secretary 1

  Allason, Rupert 1

  Allen, Graham 1

  Allen, Mary 1, 2

  Amess, David 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Amiel, Barbara 1n

  Ancram, Michael 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7n, 8, 9

  Andrew, Prince 1, 2

  Anglesey, Henry Paget, Marquess of 1

  Anne, Princess Royal 1, 2

  Arbuthnot, James 1, 2

  Archer, Jeffrey, Lord Anglia share dealings 1, 2, 3

  cancels champagne and shepherd’s pie party 1

  Conference speech 1

  Conservative non-person 1

  determination and ambition 1

  friendship with GB 1

  London Mayor ambitions 1, 2

  perjury charge 1

  political ambition 1

  and Referendum Party 1

  visit to Chester 1

  Archer, William 1

  Arnold, Sir Thomas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Ashby, David 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Ashdown, Paddy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Asher, Jane 1

  Ashton, Joe 1, 2, 3

  Asquith, Herbert Henry 1

  Astor, William, Lord 1, 2, 3, 4

  Atkins, Eileen 1, 2

  Atkins, Robert 1, 2, 3

  Atkinson, Geoffrey 1, 2, 3

  Audley, Harry 1

  Ayres, Rosalind 1n

  Baker, Kenneth 1, 2, 3, 4

  Baker, Nicholas 1

  Baldry, Tony 1, 2

  Baldwin, Stanley 1

  Banks, Matthew 1

  Banks, Tony 1, 2

  Barbour, Anthony and Diana 1

  Barker, Tom 1

  Barlow, Stephen (Stevie) 1n, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Barnett Legh, Camilla 1

  Barrit, Des 1

  Bates, Michael 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Bauwens, Mona 1

  Beale, Simon Russell 1

  Beckett, Margaret 1, 2, 3, 4

  Bedser, Sir Alec 1

  Begbie, Stuart 1n

  Bell, Martin 1n, 2, 3

  Bell, Melissa 1, 2

  Bell, Tim 1

  Bellingham, Lynda 1n, 2

  Belloc, Hilaire 1

  Benn, Tony 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Bennett, Jill 1

  Benson, Frank 1

  Beresford, Sir Paul 1

  Berkeley, Michael 1

  Better English Campaign 1, 2

  Bevin, Ernest 1

  Bhutto, Benazir 1

  Biffen, John 1, 2

  Birt, John 1, 2, 3

  Black, Cilla 1

  Blackwell, Norman 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Blair, Cherie 1, 2, 3

  Blair, Tony appoints first government 1

  and Cherie 1

  Clause IV 1

  and defence 1

  ‘demon eyes’ 1n

  and Michael Howard 1

  and Princess Diana’s death 1

  shadow Home Secretary 1n

  smiles at GB 1

  Third Way 1

  WI speech 1

  Blatch, Emily, Baroness 1, 2

  Blunkett, David 1, 2n

  Body, Sir Richard 1, 2, 3

  Bonsor, Sir Nicholas 1

  Booth, Hartley 1, 2, 3

  Boothroyd, Basil 1

  Boothroyd, Betty (Madam Speaker) 1, 2

  Bose, Mihir 1

  Bottomley, Peter 1

  Bottomley, Virginia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5n, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

  Boulton, Adam 1

  Bowis, John 1, 2

  Bowles, Peter and Sue 1

  Box, Sarah 1

  Boyd-Carpenter, Lord 1

  Boyson, Rhodes 1

  Bradford, 7th Earl of (Richard) 1n, 2

  Bragg, Melvyn, Lord 1

  Bramall, Field Marshal Lord 1

  Brandreth, Aphra (GB’s daughter) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Brandreth, Benet (GB’s son) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Brandreth, Gyles Buckingham Palace garden party 1, 2 BUSINESS INTERESTS inaccurate Complete Editions story 1, 2

  inaccurate ETB grant story 1, 2

  Paris business meeting 1

  Spear’s Games 1

  ‘grooming’ experience at school 1

  HEALTH back problems 1

  medical check-ups 1

  ‘high priest of trivia’ 1, 2

  holidays 1, 2, 3, 4

  MEDIA Andrew Marr show 1

  BBC dinner 1

  Behind the Headlines (BBC 1) 2

  Bookmark programme 1

  Breaking the Code 1

  Countdown 1n, 2

  films for ITN 1

  Frost Over the World 1

  House to House 1

  How to be Chancellor 1

  Loose Ends 1

  Newsnight 1, 2

  Question Time 1

  This Is Your Life 1

  TV-am 1

  West Country gardens filming 1

  New York visit 1

  Old Bailey lunch 1

  Oxford University 1

  pantomime 1, 2, 3, 4

  POLITICAL CAREER 1997 defeat 1

  adopted as Chester parliamentary candidate 1

  appointed to Whips’ Office 1

  black ministerial box memento 1

  Cabinet menagerie 1

  Conference speech (1994) 1

  declines Beckenham seat 1

  efforts to find a constituency 1

  elected MP for Chester 1

  false rumours of financial difficulties 1

  gay rights vote 1

  Marriage Act (1994) 1, 2

  massage parlour false allegation 1, 2

  PPS to Stephen Dorrell 1

  promotion within Whips’ Office 1, 2

  Under the Jumper 1n, 2

  Venice Midnight, (novel) 1n, 2

  Wimbledon 1, 2

  Zipp 1, 2

  Brandreth, Jeremiah 1

&nb
sp; Brandreth, Saethryd (GB’s daughter) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5n, 6, 7, 8n, 9

  Brandt, Willy 1

  Bratby, John and Patti 1, 2

  Bray, Jeremy 1

  Bremner, Rory 1

  Bridges, George 1

  Bright, Graham 1n, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Brittan, Sir Leon 1

  Brooke, Peter 1n, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Broome, John 1

  Brown, Faith 1

  Brown, George 1

  Brown, Gordon GB visit to Downing Street 1

  leadership aspirations 1

  Maastricht Bill 1

  Prime Minister 1

  sexuality discussed 1

  shadow Chancellor 1, 2, 3, 4

  Shakespeare birthday celebrations 1

  Brown, Michael 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Brown, Michèle (GB’s wife) birthday celebrations 1, 2

  charms the selection committee 1, 2

  Complete Editions apology 1

  constituency support for GB 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  English Tourist Board inaccurate story 1

  and Queen Elizabeth 1

  Seitz’s leaving party 1

  support for GB as whip 1

  thoughts on GB’s parliamentary career 1, 2, 3

  Valentine’s Day supper 1

  wedding anniversaries 1, 2, 3, 4

  whips’ Christmas party 1

  Browning, Angela 1, 2, 3, 4

  Bruno, Frank 1

  Brunson, Michael 1

  Bryant, Chris 1

  Bryn Estyn children’s home 1

  BSE crisis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Buck, Sir Antony 1

  Budgen, Nick 1, 2, 3

  Budget 1992 1

  1993 1, 2, 3

  shadow 1

  Bulloch, Sally 1

  Burgess, Anthony 1

  Burns, Simon 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Burrell, Paul 1

  Burt, Alistair 1, 2, 3

  Burton, Mr 1

  Bush, Charlotte 1

  Bush, George 1, 2