An investigation over the claims that former MP Cyril Smith was discovered with indecent images of children in his car boot has been closed by Northamptonshire Police due to lack of evidence.
Smith is acknowledged to have been stopped on the M1 during the 1980s and released after phoning an unidentified third party in London.
No witnesses or reports of the alleged incident have been found, according to the Northamptonshire Police. The police said five people stepped forward to assist the investigation with third party accounts, but these could not be used as evidence.
The investigation was initially carried out after Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk stated in his book that Smith had been stopped on the motorway in Northampton over 30 years ago when material was apparently found in his car.
Detectives said they held interviews with Mr Danczuk, two former chief constables, about 60 police staff, journalist Don Hale who has written a great deal about Smith, as well as several members of the public.
According to the Northamptonshire Police, Special Branch “had undertaken a manual trawl of their archives” and the Crown Prosecution Service had also conducted a search through its archives for “relevant information” to no avail.
A Northamptonshire Police spokesman commented: “Northamptonshire Police has now carried out a transparent, professional and proportionate investigation to establish if the alleged events happened and whether any senior influence was exerted or details were hidden over the decisions made.
“To date, no witness has been found who saw Smith in custody or was involved in his arrest and no reports of the alleged incident have been uncovered.”
The police force confirmed the case would re-open if any more information became available.