British man accuses ex-Tory politician of child sex abuse

Steve Meesham, Welsh care home resident as a boy

Sat Nov 3, 2012 9:33PM GMT

A new sexual abuse scandal rocked Britain after it was revealed that a former senior Conservative political figure had been involved in sexually abusing children in the 1970s, local media reported.

The revelation came after a man, who claimed he was abused as a boy by the senior Tory politician, called for a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, British media reported.

Steve Meesham told the BBC's Newsnight programme that the abuse took place in the 1970s while he lived in a Welsh care home, but he was ignored by police when he reported the abuse case.

"In the home it was the standard abuse which was violent and sexual. Outside it was like you were sold, we were taken to the Crest Hotel in Wrexham, mainly on Sunday nights, where they would rent rooms”, said Meesham.

"One particular night that I always recall is when I was basically raped, tied down, and abused by nine different men."

Meesham claimed that a prominent Tory politician of the Margaret Thatcher era was among those who abused him at the time.

"You were taken by car, where basically you were sexually abused. Various things would happen, drink would be involved, it was basically rape. But it wasn't just him, there be other people involved as well," Meesham said.

Meesham also said that when he went to the police to report the abuse he was ignored. "I was called a liar. I was pinned up against a wall. I could still name to this day the police officer who had done it," he said.

Meesham said he would like there to be a "full investigation" into what happened to him and others.

"I would like a meeting now with David Cameron. He's made a statement, a sweeping statement that abused people need to be believed, we haven't been believed we've been swept under the carpet," he said.

The scandal comes at a time when British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is, itself, struggling with a defaming abuse scandal involving one of its now unpopular producers, Jimmy Saville, whose child sex abuse case has triggered a national probe with more than 300 victims involved.