Historical child abuse support call by Simon Danczuk MP

Police are investigating allegations the late Viscount Tonypandy abused a boy

A Labour MP says it is important police have enough resources to investigate all claims of historical child abuse.

Simon Danczuk's comments come after it emerged South Wales Police are looking into claims former House of Commons speaker George Thomas abused a child.

Viscount Tonypandy, who was a Labour MP in Cardiff from 1945 to 1983, died of cancer in 1997, aged 88.

The alleged victim, now aged 55, told the Mirror newspaper he was sexually abused by him in the 1960s and 1970s.

South Wales Police admitted the claims were first made in 2013 although they failed at first to contact the complainant.

The force has referred the matter to the police watchdog, the IPCC.

Mr Danczuk, who exposed child sex abuse allegations against former Liberal MP Cyril Smith, said since the separate investigation into abuse by former BBC DJ Jimmy Savile, there has been a "new air around that enables victims to come forward and share their experiences".

'Come forward'

"I think there has been a culture change within all police forces across the United Kingdom in relation to child sex abuse, including historic child sex abuse," said Mr Danczuk, MP for Rochdale.

"I know that there has been a reluctance within some police forces to look at historic child sex abuse not least because they have limited resources so what we do need to see is for government to make sure that police forces are adequately resourced to be able to investigate these very, very serious allegations."

The MP also expressed his belief that more allegations could be made as the investigations into the late viscount continue.

Simon Danczuk MP helped expose child sex abuse allegations surrounding the former Liberal MP, Cyril Smith

"We know from the investigations around Cyril Smith that I've researched in detail that the police can quite easily identify other victims of their abuser," said Mr Danczuk.

At the weekend, South Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Nikki Holland said: "It is important that victims have the confidence to come forward and speak to us.

"We take any allegations regarding sexual assault or rape extremely seriously and urge anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime to make contact with us."

George Thomas's alleged victim, who now lives in Australia, claims he was raped by Thomas at his home and another address in Cardiff.