‘Claims by Nick Clegg and other senior Liberal Democrats that they knew nothing about the depraved activities of serial child abuser Cyril Smith were crumbling last night.

Mr Clegg had said that when all Lib Dem MPs and peers were asked two years ago whether they had heard of the child abuse claims against the 29-stone MP for Rochdale, ‘no one said they did’.

But ex-leader David Steel admitted speaking to Smith about the allegations as long ago as the 1970s and his office issued a statement about them to the Rochdale Alternative Press newspaper in 1979.

A former colleague of Lord Steel, David Alton, told Channel 4’s Dispatches that he discussed last year with Steel the allegations made by the paper about boys being stripped, beaten and subjected to bizarre ‘examinations’ by Smith.’

Read more: Squirming of the Lib Dems: Clegg and Co's claims that they knew nothing about Cyril Smith's paedophilia crumble