Private Eye damns Sir Cyril over asbestos scandal

Recent revelations surrounding the asbestos cover-up at Rochdale's T&N factory and Sir Cyril Smith's interaction with the company have been featured in satirical magazine Private Eye.

After it was revealed that Sir Cyril was a shareholder at T&N, the Rochdale Liberal Democrats claimed that Sir Cyril 'purchased the minimum amount of shares in T&N in order to speak at their AGM'. A story in this fortnight's edition of Private Eye declared: "These claims are nonsense."

The article continues: "When Smith purchased his T&N shares in 1982 he boasted that they were a good investment: "The fall in value of T&N shares was without rhyme or reason - so much so that I have today instructed my bankers to purchase some for me," he said at the time."

Meanwhile Rochdale Online is yet to receive a response from Rochdale Council after asking, two weeks ago, who, in principle, made the decision to label the site of the asbestos factory as an 'Area of Opportunity', which could allow, in principle, the construction of a 'mixed use' village of hundreds of homes and a children's nursery.

The editor of the British Asbestos Newsletter, Laurie Kazan-Allen, asked similar questions of the Council more than a month ago, and is yet to receive a response.

The Private Eye story goes on to mention a memo from the T&N medical officer, Dr Tim Goffe, to T&N director Harry Hardie in 1983, which was published on Rochdale Online last week and proved there was a cover-up of the dangers of asbestos to workers of the factory. Dr Goffe wrote: "I thought the bad old days of suppression of reports, secrecy on health and safety matters, non-investigation of sensitive problems were long since over...but the overall impression is of fudge and cover up."

Private Eye believes that Rochdale MP Paul Rowen is compromising his reputation for asbestos campaigning by defending Sir Cyril. The article concludes: "Why? Perhaps some clue can be found in the records of the Electoral Commission which show that half the donations made to Rochdale Liberal Democrats originate from the home address of, er, Sir Cyril Smith."