A former British Home Secretary says he asked officials to "look carefully" at a dossier he received in the 1980s alleging paedophile activity in Westminster.

But Leon Brittan says the issue was not raised with him subsequently.

He issued a statement after Labour MP Simon Danczuk insisted he should "share his knowledge" about the file prepared by then-MP Geoffrey Dickens, and handed to him in the 1980s.

According to Mr. Danczuk, it contained information about the "Paedophile Information Exchange (Pie), about paedophiles operating a network within and around Westminster".

In a statement, Mr. Brittan said "During my time as Home Secretary (1983 to 1985), Geoff Dickens MP arranged to see me at the Home Office. I invariably agreed to see any MP who requested a meeting with me. As I recall, he came to my room at the Home Office with a substantial bundle of papers".

"As is normal practice, my Private Secretary would have been present at the meeting. I told Mr Dickens that I would ensure that the papers were looked at carefully by the Home Office and acted on as necessary".

"Following the meeting, I asked my officials to look carefully at the material contained in the papers provided and report back to me if they considered that any action needed to be taken by the Home Office".

"In addition I asked my officials to consider a referral to another Government Department, such as the Attorney General's Department, if that was appropriate. This was the normal procedure for handling material presented to the Home Secretary".

"I do not recall being contacted further about these matters by Home Office officials or by Mr. Dickens or by anyone else" he added.