Matches in DBpedia 2016-04 for { ?s ?p "The Thorpe affair of the 1970s was a British political and sex scandal that ended the career of Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament (MP) for North Devon.The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Scott that he had been in a homosexual relationship with Thorpe in the early 1960s, at a time when such relationships were illegal in the United Kingdom. Thorpe denied any such relationship, while admitting that the two had been friends. With the help of political colleagues and a compliant press, he was able to ensure that rumours of misconduct were unreported for more than a decade. Scott's allegations were a persistent threat, however, and by the mid-1970s he was perceived as a danger both to Thorpe and to the Liberal Party, which was then enjoying a resurgence of popularity and was close to a place in government. Attempts to buy or frighten Scott into silence were unsuccessful, and the problem mounted, until the fallout following the shooting of his dog by a hired gunman brought the matter into the open. After further newspaper revelations Thorpe was forced to resign the Liberal leadership, and subsequent police investigations led to his being charged, with three others, with conspiracy to murder Scott. Before the case came to trial, Thorpe lost his parliamentary seat in the May 1979 general election.At the trial, the prosecution's case depended heavily on the evidence of Scott, of Thorpe's former parliamentary colleague Peter Bessell, and of the hired gunman, Andrew Newton. None of these witnesses impressed the court; Bessell's credibility was undermined by an arrangement with The Sunday Telegraph in which he would gain financially if Thorpe was found guilty. In his summing-up the judge was scathing about the prosecution's evidence, and all four defendants were acquitted. Nevertheless, Thorpe's public reputation was irreparably damaged by the case. He had chosen not to testify at the trial, which left a number of matters unexplained amid public disquiet.His retirement into private life was hastened by the onset of Parkinson's disease in the mid-1980s, and he made few public statements afterwards. He achieved a reconciliation with the North Devon Liberal Democrat party, of which he was honorary president from 1988 until his death in 2014."@en }
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- Thorpe_affair abstract "The Thorpe affair of the 1970s was a British political and sex scandal that ended the career of Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament (MP) for North Devon.The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Scott that he had been in a homosexual relationship with Thorpe in the early 1960s, at a time when such relationships were illegal in the United Kingdom. Thorpe denied any such relationship, while admitting that the two had been friends. With the help of political colleagues and a compliant press, he was able to ensure that rumours of misconduct were unreported for more than a decade. Scott's allegations were a persistent threat, however, and by the mid-1970s he was perceived as a danger both to Thorpe and to the Liberal Party, which was then enjoying a resurgence of popularity and was close to a place in government. Attempts to buy or frighten Scott into silence were unsuccessful, and the problem mounted, until the fallout following the shooting of his dog by a hired gunman brought the matter into the open. After further newspaper revelations Thorpe was forced to resign the Liberal leadership, and subsequent police investigations led to his being charged, with three others, with conspiracy to murder Scott. Before the case came to trial, Thorpe lost his parliamentary seat in the May 1979 general election.At the trial, the prosecution's case depended heavily on the evidence of Scott, of Thorpe's former parliamentary colleague Peter Bessell, and of the hired gunman, Andrew Newton. None of these witnesses impressed the court; Bessell's credibility was undermined by an arrangement with The Sunday Telegraph in which he would gain financially if Thorpe was found guilty. In his summing-up the judge was scathing about the prosecution's evidence, and all four defendants were acquitted. Nevertheless, Thorpe's public reputation was irreparably damaged by the case. He had chosen not to testify at the trial, which left a number of matters unexplained amid public disquiet.His retirement into private life was hastened by the onset of Parkinson's disease in the mid-1980s, and he made few public statements afterwards. He achieved a reconciliation with the North Devon Liberal Democrat party, of which he was honorary president from 1988 until his death in 2014.".
- Q17102144 abstract "The Thorpe affair of the 1970s was a British political and sex scandal that ended the career of Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament (MP) for North Devon.The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Scott that he had been in a homosexual relationship with Thorpe in the early 1960s, at a time when such relationships were illegal in the United Kingdom. Thorpe denied any such relationship, while admitting that the two had been friends. With the help of political colleagues and a compliant press, he was able to ensure that rumours of misconduct were unreported for more than a decade. Scott's allegations were a persistent threat, however, and by the mid-1970s he was perceived as a danger both to Thorpe and to the Liberal Party, which was then enjoying a resurgence of popularity and was close to a place in government. Attempts to buy or frighten Scott into silence were unsuccessful, and the problem mounted, until the fallout following the shooting of his dog by a hired gunman brought the matter into the open. After further newspaper revelations Thorpe was forced to resign the Liberal leadership, and subsequent police investigations led to his being charged, with three others, with conspiracy to murder Scott. Before the case came to trial, Thorpe lost his parliamentary seat in the May 1979 general election.At the trial, the prosecution's case depended heavily on the evidence of Scott, of Thorpe's former parliamentary colleague Peter Bessell, and of the hired gunman, Andrew Newton. None of these witnesses impressed the court; Bessell's credibility was undermined by an arrangement with The Sunday Telegraph in which he would gain financially if Thorpe was found guilty. In his summing-up the judge was scathing about the prosecution's evidence, and all four defendants were acquitted. Nevertheless, Thorpe's public reputation was irreparably damaged by the case. He had chosen not to testify at the trial, which left a number of matters unexplained amid public disquiet.His retirement into private life was hastened by the onset of Parkinson's disease in the mid-1980s, and he made few public statements afterwards. He achieved a reconciliation with the North Devon Liberal Democrat party, of which he was honorary president from 1988 until his death in 2014.".