Vince Cable confirmed last week that he will stand down as leader of the Liberal Democrats in May. Sure, it has been busy – but did anyone notice? Something quite astonishing has happened to this anti-Brexit party over the years, even as it seems to plunge itself into irrelevance. Nick Clegg sold his soul to Mark Zuckerberg. Tim Farron, who faced constant questions about whether he regarded homosexuality as a sin, could no longer lead a party of liberals and “hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching”. Who remembers Charles Kennedy – a principled man who died too soon because of alcoholism? Now we see that David Steel, another former leader, has been suspended from the party for remarks he made to the Cyril Smith inquiry. Smith was a councillor in the 1960s in Rochdale and then a Lib Dem MP there between 1972 and 1992.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Steel (right) and Cyril Smith in 1978. Photograph: Keystone Pictures USA/Rex/Shutterstock

Lord Steel says he believed Cyril Smith abuse claims but did not act Read more

By 2010, many allegations of abuse of young boys had been made against Smith. Steel said he had discussed these abuse allegations with Smith in 1979, and “assumed” he had committed the offences, but decided to take no further action as, at the time of the allegations, Smith was not yet an MP and the police had dropped the investigation. Smith would go on to abuse more young boys. With the benefit of hindsight, we may say that Steel did not fully understand what the repercussions of multiple sexual abuse were, though I am fairly sure we knew what paedophilia was, even in 1979, as well as understanding the power imbalance between a local bigwig and a poor kid in care.

More recently, though, assuming still Smith had committed the offences, Steel waved through a recommendation that Smith should receive a knighthood, failing to pass on the allegations of abuse because it did not occur to him that other children could still have been at risk.

What an extraordinary lapse of judgment. A very British scandal indeed. The Lib Dems are clearly not as dull as they appear. But, sadly, for all the wrong reasons.