thorpe‘s friend peter bessell went public with his story of the conspiracy. was on trial. although acquitted. he disappeared from public life after that, suffering from parkinson's. although he made a poignant appearance at the liberal democrat party conference in 1997. jeremy thorpe died in 2014. that was a very condensed version of the plot. but it is worth also saying that there is also an enduring suspicion that the authorities, or the establishment, tried to protect thorpe and cover—up the affair with norman scott, and panorama last night ran an episode put together at the time of the trial, which made the case that a lot more had been known about thorpe than the authorities let on. well, let's talk to lord steel who joins us now from selkirk. a very good evening to you. i wonder whether you think surname was guilty of a conspiracy to murder norman scott? —— thorpe. we have to remember that 40 years ago a jury decided he was not guilty and those of us who had worked with him couldn't do anything else but i accept the jury's verdict. that is the way the s