Tom Mangold: The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal TV - A Very English Scandal TV - Secret Lives: Jeremy Thorpe TV -
In 1979 Panorama and BBC television spent months investigating the background to the sensational trial of former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe for a special programme … The programme was halted on legal grounds. Tom Mangold, The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal, BBC 2018
Today there’s a strong and widespread view that the Thorpe verdict was a miscarriage of justice. ibid.
He left with only a third in Law. ibid.
A side of his character that was to remain hidden from the electorate to the bitter end. ibid.
Just six months after the bunnies letter the relationship between both men had clearly begun to cool. ibid.
It’s hardly a great surprise now, is it? A Very English Scandal, Thorpe at lunch, opening scene, BBC 2018
At last, someone to protect me from myself. ibid.
When I first met him, he was very heaven. ibid.
The heterosexual man is so relentless in his attack. ibid. peer to MP
There’s only one thing we can do: kill him. ibid.
Is he dead? A Very English Scandal e2, Jeremy
Who knows where time and tide will take us. ibid.
I think I’ve been cursed. ibid. Scott
I was Jeremy Thorpe’s lover. ibid. scandal hits headlines
No-one would hang a cat on his word. A Very English Scandal e3, News of the World
I Was Hired To Kill Scott. ibid. Evening News headline
Why were they Welsh? ibid. Mrs Thorpe
Former MP Peter Bessell gave a devastating testimony. ibid. television news
But with Norman Scott it went on for years. ibid. Thorpe’s QC
When Jeremy Thorpe strode on to the political stage, many thought he’d be the greatest Liberal leader in 50 years. A dazzling showman, witty and energetic, he effortlessly balanced royal friendships with radical principles. A decade later he stood charged with conspiracy to murder his former homosexual lover, and his public life lay in ruins. Secret Lives: Jeremy Thorpe, Channel 4 1996
The young Norman Scott was a groom at the stables, and Thorpe was a frequent visitor. ibid.
Thorpe denies that he ever had an affair with Scott but his letters testify to a close relationship. ibid.
Thorpe had chosen an unstable lover with a history of mental illness. ibid.
The cover-up was working and Thorpe’s career prospered. In 1967 his talent for campaigning won him the Liberal leadership. He was still only 38. Soon afterwards he decided it was time to get married. ibid.
In 1971 the explosive secret of Norman Scott was revealed to the Liberal Party. ibid.
Ultimately, it wasn’t the shooting [of Scott’s dog] which began to implicate Thorpe but the money which paid for the conspiracy. ibid.
His [Thorpe] friends deserted him one by one and became prosecution witnesses. ibid.
Remarkably, the trial was postponed to allow Thorpe to stand in the 1979 election. ibid.
Thorpe’s fall from grace finally brought him to the Old Bailey. ibid.