The Innocence of Cyril Smith

David Steele says Cyril Smith was not a member of his party at the time. But he did nominate him for a knighthood in 1988, many years after being told about it. Some liberals believe this was done to soften up Mr Smith and make him more amenable to merger with Social Democratic Party. The Liberal Democrats were trying to merge with David Owen's St Patrick's Party (STP) - but some conservatives didn't want that going ahead.