Labour MP John Mann, pictured, said the late George Kennedy Young was involved in 'dubious' activities

A former deputy director of MI6 is 'key' to allegations surrounding a VIP paedophile ring in Westminster, an MP has claimed.

Labour MP John Mann said the late George Kennedy Young, known as GK Young, was involved in 'dubious' political activity, including establishing a 'private army'.

He added Mr Young, who later became involved in right wing politics, was a 'manipulator' who controlled groups of people within which there were paedophile rings in the 1970s or 1980s.

Mr Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, claimed he had been handed a copy of the dossier of evidence that was given by Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens to then Home Secretary Leon Brittan in 1984.

The so-called 'Dickens dossier' named several prominent paedophiles. An independent review into the Home Office's handling of child abuse allegations failed to locate a copy of the documents.

It reported last year that there was no evidence to support claims of an official cover-up, but warned it was impossible to draw firm conclusions because of shortcomings in the paper records.

Mr Mann called for the Wanless review to be reopened to find out what happened to the files, which he claims should have prompted investigation.

In a Westminster Hall debate, Mr Mann said Mr Young, who died in 1990, had been named in the first line of the document.

He said: 'This is an original, I have spoken and met and got a copy from the person who personally handed it to Geoffrey Dickens who then personally gave it to Leon Brittan.

'And what it says is, first line - GK Young heads up a Powellite faction known as Tory Action. GK Young, George Kennedy Young, was deputy director of MI6 in the past, long dead.

Mr Mann claimed he had been handed a copy of the dossier of evidence that was given to then Home Secretary Leon Brittan, pictured, in 1984

'The allegations are that he manipulated a group of people and that within that there were paedophile rings. And it goes into detail - who it's alleged were involved and where.

'I won't give all the locations because some would be I think sensitive and would potentially identify people - but London is one, Greater Manchester is another, North Yorkshire is a third one.'

Mr Mann said GK Young may be key in finding out what happened to the dossier.

He said: 'I think it's worth saying another thing about George Kennedy Young, because George Kennedy Young was involved in many dubious activities.

'He formed something called Unison, which was some kind of private army he tried to get going.

'I've seen a range of background documents that would be of interest to anyone campaigning on the Shrewsbury pickets and on infiltration of the miner's strike with names that would correlate with that.

'There is a lot of allegations about him attempting to undermine both the Heath government and the Wilson government. He was clearly a manipulator. He's rather key to what was going on.

'I don't know why he's so prominent, I don't know why the Society for Individual Freedom he set up is named either in this, but he is a significant figure.

'And it may give some reason as to why things then disappeared.'