Lord Brittan's comments on 1980s Westminster 'child sex abuse dossier'

The former home secretary Lord Brittan has clarified his position concerning a 1980s dossier alleging paedophile activity in Westminster.

The Tory peer issued a statement on the allegations after being challenged to "share what he knows" about the file, which was prepared by MP Geoffrey Dickens and which the Government has admitted appears to have since been destroyed.

Brittan initially claimed that he had passed the file to officials in November 1983 and heard nothing more.

However, an independent review that was commissioned by the Home Office last year included a letter he sent to Mr Dickens that showed this statement to be incorrect.

Lord Brittan, 74, then admitted that he had misremembered and in fact the material was assessed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the time and handed to police.

The incorrect statement Lord Brittan initially made concerning the dossier:

A Home Office statement was then issued that said Lord Brittan was incorrect:

An extract from the letter Lord Brittan wrote to Mr Dickens in March 1984 that appeared in the review that shows his statement was incorrect:

The latest statement made by Lord Brittan clarifying his earlier comments: