Hague faces cover-up row over Thatcher ally’s link to care home abuse scandal: Former foreign secretary said to have been made aware of Sir Peter Morrison’s connections while working as Welsh secretary

‘William Hague is braced for criticism over an alleged cover-up in a paedophile scandal linked to a close ally of Margaret Thatcher.

An official report into the North Wales care homes scandal, in which up to 650 children were raped or assaulted in the Seventies and Eighties, is expected to drag in the former Cabinet Minister.

In 1996, as Welsh Secretary in John Major’s Government, Hague ordered an inquiry. But after claims it let public figures off the hook, Home Secretary Theresa May called a fresh probe in 2012.

Whitehall sources anticipate that the new inquiry, due to be published this year, will accuse the Welsh Office of mishandling the issue.

It comes as evidence emerged suggesting Mr Hague was aware of the link between Tory MP Sir Peter Morrison (a former aide to Margaret Thatcher) and the scandal.’

Read more: Hague faces cover-up row over Thatcher ally's link to care home abuse scandal: Former foreign secretary said to have been made aware of Sir Peter Morrison's connections while working as Welsh secretary