Now police investigate two undercover officers over claims they abused former child actor at guest house ‘used by VIP paedophile ring’
Two former police officers are being investigated over claims they sexually abused a former child actor at the Elm Guest House in South-West London, above, which was frequented by VIPs and politicians
Two former police officers are being investigated over claims they sexually abused a former child actor at a guesthouse allegedly frequented by VIPs and politicians
Lee Towsey claims two undercover officers, who were themselves investigating abuse claims, sexually assaulted him at the Elm Guest House in South-West London.
The guesthouse is at the centre of a police investigation looking into allegations that young boys were abused by Westminster politicians, judges, pop stars and a member of the Royal household.
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The new revelation comes amid a flood of serious allegations, including that police covered up the name of an MP who abused a child at the former guesthouse.
Earlier this month, Home Secretary Theresa May described claims that MPs murdered and abused children at an exclusive block of flats as ‘the tip of the iceberg’.
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday in April, Mr Towsey said he had sex with two officers who were gaining intelligence on the guesthouse prior to the June 1982 raid.
Mr Towsey worked as a masseur at the guesthouse but was 16 at the time of the offences, which was under the age of homosexual consent then. He said: ‘The first came in April and I had sex with him.
‘He turned out to be one of the officers who later raided the house.
‘He came back about three weeks later and hired a room. He stayed two nights and on the second night his partner stayed too.
‘I ended up having sex with them. Afterwards they asked me “how much” and I told them that they were not clients and I felt insulted they wanted to pay me.’
Mr Towsey, who appeared in Grange Hill and Doctor Who, was taken to Richmond police station after the raid, where, he claims, he saw the second officer. Metropolitan Police detectives launched the investigation after Mr Towsey reported the allegations to police in early 2013. It referred the matter the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), but the watchdog decided not to investigate and sent the case back to the Met.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards is now leading the investigation, Operation Yvonne, into the former officers, who were police constables at the time of the alleged offence.
Scotland Yard has refused to release their names.
After the raid the guesthouse owners, Harry and Carole Kasir, were convicted of keeping a disorderly house and having obscene videos. They were given a two-year suspended sentence and fined £1,000.
Ordeal: How The Mail on Sunday revealed in April that Lee Towsey had been abused as a teenager by police officers at the Elm Guest house
Mr Towsey’s lawyer said police had now asked his client to provide a further statement about the claims. Nigel Fisher, of Fletcher Day solicitors, said: ‘We are pleased police have now officially launched an investigation into the events.
‘It is an important step in taking Lee’s case further. Police have asked Lee to give a further statement which he is doing in the next couple of weeks.’
Operation Yvonne is the latest off-shoot from Operation Fernbridge, which is looking into claims children were abused at the former guest house, which is now a row of flats.Police have already confirmed the disgraced former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith, who Mr Towsey said was one of his clients, was a visitor.
Police are probing allegations VIPs preyed on boys who were brought to the guesthouse in Rocks Lane, Barnes, from a nearby children’s home.
It has also been suggested that police or security services covered up the name of a politician who allegedly abused a child taken into custody the night of the raid.
A social worker who was at the police station claimed details of the boy’s account were left out of his police statement.
The social worker said that the boy had spoken of a man called ‘Uncle XXXXX’ and that the man worked ‘at the big houses’ – the Houses of Parliament.
However references to both ‘Uncle XXXXX’ and the Houses of Parliament were left out of what should have been a verbatim account of his statement.
Simon Danczuk MP, who spoke to Mr Towsey after it emerged that Cyril Smith was a regular visitor to the guesthouse, said: ‘These latest allegations are very worrying and suggest that the awful experiences young lads had to endure there were compounded by a botched police investigation.
‘If we’re going to uncover the truth of what happened at Elm Guest House it’s vital that the role of the police in investigating these criminal activities is examined thoroughly.’
As well as Operation Fernbridge, the Met has a number of active investigations into VIP-related child abuse ongoing.
Operation Fairbank is looking into claims a paedophile ring had links to Westminster, while Operation Midland is looking into explosive claims boys were abused and even killed by Conservative politicians at Dolphin Square, a block of flats in Pimlico, London.
The Home Office, which came under fire for losing a dossier of alleged abuses given by Geoffrey Dickens to former Home Secretary Leon Brittan in 1983, is conducting a public inquiry into historic abuse.
A Met police spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that allegations of historical sexual abuse against two former officers, alleged to have taken place in the 1980s, were passed to the IPCC for its consideration. It referred the matter back to the Met for local department of professional standards investigation.’
A spokesman for the IPCC said a senior investigator assessed the available information and decided the force should continue with its own investigation. The spokesman said: ‘We asked the force to refer the matter again if any evidence was found that may merit this decision being reconsidered.’
… and new probe launched into child sex abuse at Jonathan King disco
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