This documentary was made in 1979, and was to be released in the wake of the conviction of Jeremy Thorpe. Fortunately for him, the jury followed the directions of the judge to acquit, although it was of course the end of his political career, and "The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal" was locked away in the BBC's vault only to be dug out by Tom Mangold, one of the original team, four decades on.
Most of the facts herein are known to those who followed the legal proceedings, the actual trial, or who have seen the recent, excellent dramatisation starring Hugh Grant, but there are some new revelations, and a short interview with the man who caused all this, Norman Scott.
Was Thorpe guilty? Of course he was! But although no one should condone murder, including a failed attempt, it is easy to understand why Thorpe resorted to such desperate measures. Here was a man to whom, sexual perversion aside, he had shown kindness, only to be rewarded with attempts to out him as a closet homo and thereby destroy his career, not from any idealistic or even political motive, but solely out of spite. Shooting Scott would indeed have been no worse than shooting a mad dog, as he said at the time. Nowadays of course, out homosexuals can and do hold high political office, and no one bats an eyelid. Perhaps Thorpe was simply born too soon?
Most of the facts herein are known to those who followed the legal proceedings, the actual trial, or who have seen the recent, excellent dramatisation starring Hugh Grant, but there are some new revelations, and a short interview with the man who caused all this, Norman Scott.
Was Thorpe guilty? Of course he was! But although no one should condone murder, including a failed attempt, it is easy to understand why Thorpe resorted to such desperate measures. Here was a man to whom, sexual perversion aside, he had shown kindness, only to be rewarded with attempts to out him as a closet homo and thereby destroy his career, not from any idealistic or even political motive, but solely out of spite. Shooting Scott would indeed have been no worse than shooting a mad dog, as he said at the time. Nowadays of course, out homosexuals can and do hold high political office, and no one bats an eyelid. Perhaps Thorpe was simply born too soon?