Zac Goldsmith is facing questions from a former Conservative MP and the brother of Lord Brittan after he refused to withdraw claims made in parliament about an alleged paedophile ring in his constituency.

The Conservative mayoral candidate for London has been accused of repeating unfounded allegations of abuse by VIPs in Richmond, south-west London, that were apparently based on testimony from a convicted fraudster.



Goldsmith told MPs in November there had been a cover-up of abuse at Elm Guest House, involving establishment figures including a former cabinet minister, whom he did not name, but who was identified on social media as Leon Brittan. A spokesperson for Goldsmith said the MP had “rightly” asserted that child sex abuse should be taken seriously.



But Goldsmith’s critics claim that the allegations have now been widely discredited and that it was time for him to withdraw his previous statements to parliament. Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP who has been questioned by police over the alleged paedophile ring and denies any involvement, called for Goldsmith to drop out of the race to become mayor unless he withdraws the statements, which Proctor regards as a smear.



Sir Samuel Brittan, the brother of the late former home secretary, said it would be “helpful” if Goldsmith clarified his statements by confirming that Brittan was innocent of all charges.



Their demands follow last week’s Panorama programme, which undermined some of the central claims surrounding the existence of a paedophile ring in Elm Guest House.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock

The Goldsmith row comes after four days of pressure on Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, to offer a full apology for repeating claims of rape and paedophilia against Brittan. Watson has apologised for describing Brittan as “close to evil” but has refused to accept that police have no evidence that he was a paedophile.

In a speech to parliament in November 2014, Goldsmith said he had been “reliably told” that 12 boys gave evidence in 1982 that they had been abused at Elm Guest House. “When [the co-owner] died a few years after the house was raided, in very odd circumstances, a child protection campaigner from the National Association Of Young People In Care called for a criminal investigation into events there.

“He said he had been told by [the co-owner] that boys had been brought in from a local children’s home – Grafton Close, also in Richmond – for sex, and that she had photographs of establishment figures at her hotel. One of them apparently showed a former cabinet minister in a sauna with a naked boy,” he said.

“The Met has since confirmed that Cyril Smith visited the place and at least three other men named in documents as visitors to the Elm guest house were later convicted of multiple sexual offences against children. It is impossible to believe there was not a cover-up,” he said.



A year-long inquiry by Panorama examined a number of claims when it was broadcast on Tuesday. The programme-makers interviewed the former social worker Chris Fay, who has been described as a campaigner for the National Association of Young People in Care.

The programme disclosed that Fay was a convicted fraudster. In an interview, he told the programme that he had seen two compromising photographs of Brittan with young boys, one of which was taken in a sauna. He also claimed that Proctor’s name was on the list of VIP paedophiles who attended Elm Guest House, but the list has since disappeared.

Journalists from the BBC also contacted one of the former young boys who Fay had claimed had told him that he had been abused by VIPs. The witness, called Mark, said he had never spoken to Fay and that he had never been taken to Elm Guest House. Another person interviewed by the programme, called David, told Panorama that he was pressured by Fay into saying Brittan was present while abuse took place by another accuser.

Fay did not respond to Guardian requests for an interview, but he told Panorama that no such pressure took place and stood by his claims as reported by Goldsmith.

On Tuesday, Proctor said the highly damaging allegations from Fay appeared to have been repeated at length by Goldsmith and should now be withdrawn because Fay was an unreliable witness. “I used to own a shop in Richmond-upon-Thames and it would often be visited by Professor Teddy Goldsmith.

“He would not have wished to have seen his nephew smearing me and a former cabinet minister in his own party. Zac Goldsmith is a disloyal Conservative. He should consider his position as mayoral candidate for London,” he said.

Proctor was questioned about Elm Guest House at his second interview with Scotland Yard officers in August. The following day he held an explosive press conference denying claims that he was an abuser and claiming that he and others have been victims of a “homosexual witch hunt”.

Samuel Brittan said that that Goldsmith’s conduct has not been as damaging to his family as the claims by Tom Watson, but his claims should still be addressed. “It would be helpful if Zac Goldsmith clarified his statement and cleared my brother of these claims,” he said.

Goldsmith did not respond to questions asking whether he met Fay or whether he was aware that he was referring to Brittan when he referred to a cabinet minister in a sauna during his speech to parliament.



A spokesperson for Goldsmith said: “In his speech to parliament Zac rightly pointed out that allegations of historic[al] child sex abuse should be taken seriously and investigated appropriately – this is why he welcomes and supports the Goddard inquiry.”



Justice Lowell Goddard is leading an independent inquiry examining how public bodies handled their duty of care to protect children from historical abuse in England and Wales.

Scotland Yard was unable to say whether it had ever confirmed that Smith, the former Lib Dem MP for Rochdale, visited Elm Guest House. Police are continuing to investigate claims of a paedophile ring in Elm Guest House through Operation Athabasca. Sources have told the Guardian that the inquiry is petering out.