The fact that Geoffrey Dickens was what is euphemistically described as a “maverick” has conveniently been forgotten. As have the words of Patrick Cosgrove, who described Dickens in his obituary as “the original “rent-a-quote” man… you could always be sure that, whatever the subject, Dickens would have a view on it, and be convinced that his was the only view that any sane or moral individual could hold”. People have opted to ignore the contradiction of Dickens, the master detective, delivering his damning file into the very hands of one of the leaders of the conspiracy. Or the fact that a Home Office review confirmed the “dossier” was in fact simply a file of letters. And the fact that between 1979 and 1999, over a hundred other files relating to child abuse were also lost from the Home Office records, and that Brittan was only Home Secretary for the period 1983 to 1985. Or that the review headed by NSPCC CEO Peter Wanless found “nothing to support a concern that files had been deliberately or systematically removed or destroyed to cover up organised child abuse”.