Sunday 2 September 2012

Thorpe on Conspiracy to Murder Charge

Daily Mirror dated Tuesday November 21st 1978
Click to Read
Jeremy Thorpe was the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 until 1976 who had met Norman Scott in the early 1960’s whilst Scott was working as a stable lad. Scott later claimed that he and Thorpe had had a homosexual relationship. This was  at illegal in Britain at the time.
In 1975 a former airline pilot, Andrew Newton, drove Scott to Exmoor where Newton shot Scott's dog and then turned the gun on Scott but either didn’t fire or, if he did, the gun jammed. At Newton’s trial in 1976 he was convicted of the illegal possession of a firearm and intent to endanger life.
Jeremy Thorpe’s name came up in court and the story caused a scandal that forced Thorpe to resign as Leader. 
When Newton was released in 1977 he claimed that he had been hired to kill Norman Scott. In 1978, Thorpe was accused along with 3 other men, including the Deputy Treasurer of the Liberal Party, of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott.

Click to Read
This Daily Mirror was published at the time of the initial hearing to decide if the case was to go to a full court and a jury. They decided that there was a case to answer and the trial was set for May 1979.

One of the chief prosecution witnesses was a former Liberal MP, Peter Bessell, who claimed to have been present when the murder plot was discussed. He had agreed to appear as a witness in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

At the 1979 trail the jury finally decided that Thorpe and co. had not conspired to murder Scott but just to frighten him and the 4 men were acquitted.

Click to Read
Click to Read
In the 1950’s Jim Jones had joined the Communist Party in his home state of Indiana but was also drawn to religion and formed his own church – the Peoples Temple. During the early 1960’s he was active in trying to integrate blacks and whites and became a target for white supremacists. As the 60’s wore on he moved away from Christianity and preached what he called Apostolic Socialism, which basically meant rejecting religion in favour of socialism. He also started claiming that he was Ghandi, Jesus and Lenin reincarnated.
In 1970 he moved his followers to a site in Guyana he called Jonestown. Back in the US parents of Peoples Temple members formed a concerned group and approached Congressman Leo Ryan. In 1978 he led a fact-finding mission to Jonestown but on the second day, November 18th, a member attacked Ryan with a knife and the delegation left for the airport. Other members of the Cult followed them and, as they were boarding a light aircraft, the group were shot at. Ryan and 4 others were killed.  
Later that day 909 members of the Peoples Temple died of cyanide poisoning by committing suicide or, in the case of those who were reluctant or unable, like children and babies, murdered. 

Click to Read
From 1967 to 1969 Simon Dee was one of the most popular talk-show hosts on TV with his show ‘Dee Time’ which boasted a peek audience of 18 million people. But then he fell out with the BBC over pay and deserted to ITV to launch another chat show. After just a few months he fell out with them too and they cancelled his contract. Despite a few short lived radio jobs his career never recovered and he died in 2009. 

Click to Read
Alan Scott Newman, the only son of film star Paul Newman, had a long history of alcoholism and mental problems due to, he believed, not being able to live up to his famous father. After a motorcycle accident he was on prescription valium and it was an overdose of these, couple with alcohol, that killed him at the age of 28. 

Click to Read
I can’t help thinking that they wouldn’t have got away with 6 years a piece these days.

Click to Read
Those were the days when the big decision was whether to buy C60 or C90 tapes. C90’s held more music but tended to get mangled in the cheaper players.

Click to Read
They don’t write romantic ballads like ‘Germ Free Adolescence’ anymore. Not to mention ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’.

Click to Read
I pick these sporting pieces out on the basis that if I recognize a name then they must be famous. Tommy Docherty was a football player and later a manager whose career lasted from 1947 to 1988.

No comments:

Post a Comment