Jeremy thorpe documentary bbc youtube

He gave a statement to the police but no action was taken.

Thorpe issued an immediate denial but when an affectionate letter between them appeared in the press, Thorpe resigned as leader of the Liberals.

Eighteen months later, a man called Andrew Newton was released from prison.

He had been jailed on charges arising from an incident on Exmoor in Somerset in which Scott's dog, Rinka, was shot.

Newton claimed that he had been paid by a leading Liberal supporter to kill Scott because of his blackmail threats but said he had lost his nerve and shot the dog instead.

Further police investigations led to Thorpe and three associates being charged by Avon and Somerset Constabulary with conspiring to murder Scott.

At the time it was called the trial of century.

Thorpe was accused of hiring a hitman to murder Norman Scott, who believed the Liberal Party leader wanted him silenced because of the pair's earlier affair. BBC Sounds - The Rest Is History, A Very British Scandal SOZ