Tom O’Carroll has been jailed for corrupting public morals and sharing indecent images

A notorious paedophile who once campaigned for sex with children to be legalised has been allowed to join the Labour party.

Tom O’Carroll, former chairman of the Paedophile Information Exchange (Pie), is understood to have joined after the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader in September.

Pie was formed in 1974 to campaign for a change in the law. O’Carroll was jailed in 1981 for “corrupting public morals” and again in 2006 for distributing indecent images of children.

The news has horrified party figures who believe that he should be ejected and have raised questions as to why he slipped through the net that allows for the exclusion of convicted criminals.

O’Carroll spoke to The Times through an intercom at his home yesterday. Asked about