EAST Lancashire MPs have called for investigations into possible child abuse by senior politicians in the 1980s to be swift and thorough.

The inquiry will also look at how the Home Office lost or destroyed 114 files possibly shedding light on alleged paedophile activity.

Home Secretary Theresa May this week announced two reviews into claims of abuse alleged to involve 20 public figures spanning ‘decades’.

Former judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, who headed the 1980s Cleveland child abuse inquiry, will chair the main investigation into the alleged historical child sex abuse.

NSPCC head Peter Wanless will focus on claims the Home Office failed to act on allegations contained in a dossier handed over in the 1980s by former Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens.

The two probes follow Rochdale Labour MP, and ex-Darwen councillor, Simon Danczuk calling on former Home Secretary Leon Brittan to say what happened to the 114 documents passed to him in the 1980s.

Blackburn Labour MP Jack Straw said: “It is 13 years since I was Home Secretary but I saw nothing about these allegations.

“This inquiry needs to be conducted swiftly and thoroughly. I am concerned about the issue of record keeping in the Home Office.”

Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans said: “We want these reviews to be thorough but we do not want them to drag on interminably.

“The 114 missing files are either destroyed, missing or not found.

“We need to be assured no stone will be left unturned until we know exactly where they are.”

Burnley Lib Dem MP Gordon Birtwistle said: “If anybody still alive is found to be involved, they need to be brought to justice. These allegations are absolutely hideous.”