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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 for North Devon. The scandal arose from allegations by Norman Scott of a homosexual affair, at a time when such relationships were illegal in the United Kingdom. Thorpe denied any such liaison and largely managed to avoid public and press scrutiny, but Scott's allegations were a persistent threat for years, endangering the Liberal Party's mid-1970s revival. Unsuccessful attempts to buy Scott's silence and frighten him culminated in 1975 with the shooting of his dog by a hired gunman. The police investigation and publicity forced Thorpe's resignation. He and three others were charged with conspiracy to murder Scott, but the main prosecution witnesses were undermined by, among other factors, their financial arrangements with newspapers. All four defendents were acquitted, although there were later claims that important prosecution evidence had been suppressed by the police. Thorpe's reputation was damaged irreparably by evidence that was uncontested, and he did not return to public life. (Full article...)

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