Child abuse inquiry

In the wake of the conviction of Rolf Harris and of the story that Geoffrey Dickens's dossier on high-ranking paedophiles has gone missing from the home office, Theresa May has now announced a wide-ranging enquiry into historic child abuse.

In the words of the Guardian: 'She stressed the exercise would look not only at state institutions, but would bring the church into its scope and would also examine the role of political parties including the conduct of whips' offices at Westminster.'

There's one other area that might be worth considering, since we now take Dickens seriously (even if we don't go so far as to think that 'the Hayman affair is the biggest cover-up of the century').

In 1983 Dickens asked for a meeting with May's predecessor, Leon Brittan, saying: 'I am going to give him a glimpse inside my private files, where people have written to me with information.' Amongst those cases of which he had details was 'a civil servant receiving fifty-seven photographs involving children.'

But, The Times added: 'Mr Dickens refused to go into details of the case allegedly involving an employee at Buckingham Palace.'

Presumably, this time the new enquiry won't stop at the Palace gates.