The Disturbing Allegations Against Lord Mountbatten: A Spotlight on Dr Andrew Lownie’s Findings
Lord Louis Mountbatten, one of Britain’s most celebrated historical figures, has long been the subject of controversy regarding his personal life. Recently, allegations of paedophilia have resurfaced with renewed vigour, largely due to the research of historian Dr Andrew Lownie. In his book, The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves, Dr Lownie presents a comprehensive account of the claims against Mountbatten, supported by extensive evidence. Below is Dr Lownie’s full response to criticisms of his work, revealing the depth of his findings and the controversies surrounding this matter.
Dr Andrew Lownie’s Letter
Dear Sir,
It is natural and admirable that John Barry should seek to defend Lord Mountbatten, who employed him, his mother and brother but, just because Mountbatten’s ‘family, friends, staff and local staff’ saw no paedophile activity, it does not mean that it did not happen. By its very nature, such proclivities are kept private. In fact, my research shows that only one member of staff was well aware of what was happening but chose to remain silent.
If he reads my book The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves, rather than dismiss my findings as “implausible fictional claims,” he will see I have produced extensive evidence to back up my claims of Mountbatten’s paedophilia.
Stories about Mountbatten’s proclivities have circulated in the media for over forty years, including accounts in Private Eye and the International Times, where the newspaper proprietor Cecil King described Mountbatten as a “sexual pervert”. There was also a report in Now Magazine in 1990, where the Northern Ireland author Robin Bryans claimed that “leading British establishment figures were in a vice ring which abused boys from the notorious Kincora Home in East Belfast” and named Mountbatten as one of them. It also reported that Mountbatten “was particularly attracted to boys in their early teens”. Bryans, in private correspondence which I have seen, wrote that “Kincora and Portora Boys’ Schools were used as homosexual brothels by many prominent figures, including Lord Mountbatten”. Joseph de Burca in Village Magazine has written extensively about Mountbatten’s paedophile networks.
In my book, I reproduce FBI files going back to 1944 with interviews with people in Mountbatten’s circle. One, the American writer and society figure Baroness Decies, when interviewed on another matter, reported “that Lord Louis Mountbatten was known to be a homosexual with a perversion for young boys”. Interestingly, I was told that other FBI files I had requested under Freedom of Information legislation had been destroyed – after I requested them.
Mountbatten’s wartime driver Norman Nield is on record saying he “was ordered to take young boys who had been procured for the admiral to his official residence in Lord Mountbatten’s Humber car”. According to Nield, Mountbatten, known as LL, used brandy and lemonade to help seduce the boys, who ranged in age from 8 to 12.
I interviewed two boys who said they were abused by Mountbatten. Knowing of the controversy their testimony would generate, I was particularly keen to ensure what they said was true. Everything I could check was found to be accurate, but clearly, these were recollections over forty years after the event. One boy was abused in Classiebawn’s boathouse, away from the house, another in a local hotel where, before the days of CCTV, it was very easy for a visitor to nip briefly upstairs. I have never suggested that boys stayed at Classiebawn Castle itself, let alone overnight.
Contrary to claims, one has gone public with his claims and has brought legal action which is almost concluded. I am hoping he will shortly appear in a television programme on Mountbatten.
Likewise, my interviewee had agreed to participate in the HIA Inquiry, but the Inquiry served several hundred pages of information on his solicitors just before the weekend prior to his appearance at the Inquiry. His solicitors rightly told the Inquiry that, in the time allowed, it was impossible for them to read and study all the documents, let alone advise him properly.
In The Mountbattens, I reveal that Mountbatten was probably himself abused as a teenager by a bachelor clergyman, Frederick Lawrence Long, who acted as a private tutor.
On legal advice, some material was removed from my book, referring to Mountbatten’s paedophilia and murder, which further supported my paedophilia claims. I hope at some stage that material can be restored.
Various people have contacted me since my book was published last year, providing fresh evidence of Mountbatten’s activities, and I also hope to incorporate that testimony in future editions.
One has to ask why so many files from Kincora still remain closed after all this time, why files scheduled for release several years ago are still held by government departments and were not supplied to the relevant abuse inquiries, and why the Garda have refused to supply the car logs for Classiebawn for August 1977 when the boys were abused. Why not? What is there to hide?
Many files on Mountbatten’s murder remain closed forty years later, and questions remain. Why was his security reduced in 1979, and his boat no longer watched when it was known there was an enhanced threat that year and there had been recent attempts on his life, including an attempt to place a bomb on Shadow V? Why was the bodyguard Graham Yuill’s security audit warning of threats in July 1979 ignored, and he quickly reposted to Hong Kong? Might it be possible, for whatever reason, that Mountbatten did not want too much security?
For years, friends, family and staff claimed Mountbatten was not bisexual. My book, drawing on dozens of sources, shows that was not true. I fear the same campaign by supporters is being mounted again on another issue, trying to smear Mountbatten’s two brave victims with the Carl Beech brush. I have always dismissed Beech as either a complete fantasist or someone who received a large amount of money to invent his absurd stories to discredit genuine survivors of sex abuse. It is now well known that Beech had massive funds available to him, far more than he could have earned or saved.
I am a Cambridge-trained historian who follows the evidence and stand by what I have written.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Andrew Lownie
Dr. Lownie’s letter raises critical questions about how history has treated allegations against high-profile figures. His call for transparency in the release of withheld documents may be key to understanding the full scope of this troubling chapter. As more evidence comes to light, the need for a balanced and factual reckoning grows ever more pressing.
Facts are vital!
