Smile for the Camera (Paperback)

Simon Danczuk

ISBN 10: 1849548757 / ISBN 13: 9781849548755

Published by Biteback Publishing, London, 2015

About this Item

Paperback. No politician pandered to the media's appetite for personality more than Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith during the 1970s and 1980s. With his remarkable girth and regular appearances on the chat show circuit, blurring the lines between politics and show business, Smith was a larger-than-life character in a landscape of dull, grey men. Yet 'Big Cyril' was anything but the gentle giant he sought to portray. He was a serial child abuser who used his extraordinary profile to conceal predations on a spectacular scale: systematically grooming and sexually abusing young boys, often in care homes he helped to establish. Smile for the Camera is a deeply troubling story of a truly shocking abuse of power, and asks urgent questions of those who allowed Smith to get away with it. Paperback edition of the Sunday Times Political Book of the Year Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781849548755

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Smile for the Camera (Paperback)
• Publisher: Biteback Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1849548757
• ISBN 13: 9781849548755
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

No politician pandered to the media's appetite for personality more than Liberal MP Cyril Smith. Instantly recognisable for his colossal build, Smith was a larger-than-life character in a world of dull grey men. Yet 'Big Cyril' was anything but the roly-poly gentle giant of popular imagination.

In November 2012, Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk outed Smith in Parliament as a serial child abuser. Now, in this devastating exposé, he describes how Smith used his profile to groom and sexually abuse young boys, frequently in institutions he had helped to establish. His victims, often troubled boys from broken homes, had no voice against their attacker and, though rumours abounded, Smith's appalling crimes went unnoticed by the public and unpunished by the authorities.

Smile for the Camera is not just about a terrible abuse of power. It's about those who knew that abuse was taking place but looked the other way, making the corridors of Westminster a safe haven for paedophiles like Cyril Smith. This updated edition of the book that sparked a criminal investigation brings shocking new material to light, asking urgent questions of those who allowed Smith to prey on young children for decades without question.

About the Author

Simon Danczuk is the Labour Member of Parliament for Rochdale. He lives in Rochdale and London.

Matt Baker has worked in journalism, academia and politics. He has written and campaigned extensively on children's rights and, along with Simon, helped investigate Cyril Smith's past and record the victims accounts of abuse.