Tory grandee Ken Clarke is being investigated over allegations that he abused a 14-year-old boy, it has emerged. The accusations were made during a court case which saw another man who had accused the former chancellor of groping him cleared of perverting the course of justice.
The alleged victim claims to have been abused by two men, one of whom he later recognised as Ken Clarke. Details of the allegations were put to the Old Bailey during a pre-trial hearing for Benjamin Fellows, who was accused of perverting the course of justice by making a false claim against Mr Clarke, the Times has reported.
The Judge in that case, Mr Justice Simon, ruled against adjourning the case against Mr Fellows until South Yorkshire Police had undertaken a full investigation into the claims, as he said that “could be years”. The jury in the Fellows case were not made aware of the allegations for the same reason.
Mr Justice Simon also prevented details of the allegations from being made public, so as not to prejudice the outcome of the Fellows case, but at the conclusion of the case a reporter for investigative website Exaro asked the Judge to lift the ban in the public interest. That request was granted when the Prosecutor, Duncan Atkinson, withdrew his objections, conceding that there were no active proceedings in the other case, meaning that no one had been arrested or charged.
Mark Watts, Editor-in-Chief of Exaro, said: “Our main argument was the the judge simply had no power to extend the order just because there was an ongoing police investigation into the other allegation.
“I am glad that the prosecution eventually agreed. A matter of enormous public interest was raised in open court, and the public have a right to know what was said.”
Mr Fellows, a former actor, had claimed to have been molested aged 19 in 1994 by Mr Clarke while working undercover for a television investigation into Ian Greer, a political lobbyist. He later told the court that he had been pressurised into making the statement naming the MP by Scotland Yard.
Mr Clarke, who gave evidence during the trial, said the allegations against him were “preposterous,” adding “I have never had the compulsion to grope a man.”
A spokeswoman for Mr Clarke said:
“The Senior Command Team of South Yorkshire Police have assured Mr Clarke that they are not now and have never in the past investigated him for any allegation of sexual abuse or any other crime.”
South Yorkshire Police told Breitbart News :
“We can neither confirm or deny the names of any individuals who may or may not be being investigated.”