UK politicians ignored child sex abuse: inquiry

Britain's government, parliament and political parties spent decades turning "a blind eye" to high-profile child sex abusers and sometimes actively protected them, an investigation reported Tuesday.

A former Liberal party leader announced his resignation from the House of Lords after the report condemned his failure to act against a paedophile MP from his party.

The government-commissioned report into how Westminster institutions dealt with abuse claims found a culture of deference by police, prosecutors and parties towards politicians. It also noted a widespread failure to put the needs of children first.

"It is clear to see that Westminster institutions have repeatedly failed to deal with allegations of child sexual abuse, from turning a blind eye to actively shielding abusers," said the inquiry's chairwoman, Alexis Jay in a statement.

"A consistent pattern emerged of failures to put the welfare of children above political status, although we found no evidence of an organised ...