The identities of members of a paedophile group which campaigned for sex with children to be made legal are contained in a dossier which is in the hands of the BBC, it has emerged. The 300 individuals were members of PIE – the Paedophile Information Exchange – which existed in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Mirror reports the BBC states the dossier was handed over to the organisation and contains the names of people who were discovered to be potentially working with children through their jobs or volunteering. PIE was an activist group founded in the 1970s and campaigned for the lowering of the legal age of consent, before officially disbanding in 1984.
The BBC claims it was told the list of 300 names was seen by the Metropolitan Police in the late 1970s, with the force having possession of it for 20 years. It includes the names of 316 individuals and their addresses, which have not been publicly divulged. Scotland Yard said it was unable to provide specific information about previous probes into the group.
But the force said it continued to investigate allegations where there was evidence and suspects were still alive. The Mirror has also contacted the Metropolitan Police force for comment. PIE members were pejoratively UK-based men, although the group was also known to have had female members.
Some names on the list however are reported to have been for people in other parts of western Europe, the US and Australia. Investigations by the BBC allege that a small number of the men named in the file are still around and may have access to children through their paid employment or other community activities, such as volunteering.
There is no evidence that any of those have abused children, it reports. The names were searched in archives for any connection to crime reports and obituaries, with half of the 45% appearing in records discovered to have been charged, convicted or cautioned over sex offences against minors, including rape and distributing abuse imagery.
Nearly 70 people on the list were identified as being in active positions likely to have contact with young people, such as teachers, social workers, doctors and members of the clergy. The BBC’s In Dark Corners podcast, which investigates child abuse and had access to the list, made attempts to contact all those still alive.
Described in 2007 as an “international organisation of people who trade obscene material”, PIE previously tried to further its cause by aligning itself with the gay rights movement during the 1970s and 80s. While the group at one point campaigned for the age of consent to be lowered to four years old, senior member Tom O’Carroll stated his belief it should be changed to the age of 12.
The age of consent for sex between male partners was 21 until this was lowered to 18 in 1994, and later to 16. One man contacted by the BBC claim they had been members only to campaign for this to be brought in accordance with the national age of consent. Another claimed his name was on the list due to PIE’s links with a gay youth support group in the 1970s.
A third – who it’s reported was currently teaching children in a private school overseas – refused to comment on his name being on the list. Others contacted did not respond, the BBC reports. It comes amidst a new law to be introduced this year bringing criminal action or professional sanctions on anyone found to have covered up or failed to report child sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, the Tories are making calls for a nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs in Oldham. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to win parliamentary backing for a new inquiry was a “shocking tactic” because it would mean derailing legislation aimed at bolstering the safety of children. The Labour government has also faced a barrage of attacks.
X owner Elon Musk spoke out after Home Office minister Jess Phillips declined a request for the inquiry. Sir Keir told the Mirror: “No MP should be voting down children’s safeguarding measures. It’s shocking they are even thinking about this as a tactic. It’s the elevation of the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children.”
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