Archive

Archive (Hailsham MSS)

Jeremy Thorpe: Hailsham diary (Peter Rawlinson withdrawal from Norman Scott case)

Document type: Declassified documents
Source: Churchill Archive Centre: Hailsham MSS (1/1/12)
Editorial comments: Rawlinson had served as Solicitor-General and Attorney-General in successive Conservative Governments. Norman Scott was a former male model who had a homosexual relationship with the Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party, in the early 1960s. Allegations of the relationship surfaced during the trial of Andrew Newton who had apparently attempted to threaten, or possibly kill, Scott in 1976; this must have been the case from which Rawlinson had withdrawn. Thorpe himself was put on trial for conspiracy to murder later in 1978, but was acquitted shortly after the 1979 General Election.
Importance ranking: Major
Word count: 1p
Themes: Judiciary, Liberal & Social Democratic Parties