Starmer appointed Harriet Harman as Prime Minister’s Adviser on Women and Girls on 9 May 2026. Government says she will advise him on policy for women and girls.

The PIE link is historical and disputed in meaning: Harman worked at NCCL when PIE had been affiliated with NCCL. She has denied supporting PIE or lowering the age of consent, calling the allegations “horrific” and denying them

Paedophile Information Exchange

The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was a British advocacy organization active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s that promoted the acceptance and decriminalization of sexual relationships between adults and minors. It became one of the most controversial groups of its era and is now widely condemned.

Key facts

• Founded: 1974, United Kingdom
• Dissolved: 1984 following criminal prosecutions
• Type: Pro-paedophile pressure group
• Membership peak: Estimated several hundred members
• Notable outcome: Prompted political and public backlash; members convicted of child-exploitation offenses.

After Mandelson you would think Sir Kier Starmer would know better. Harriet Harman’s role at the former National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL, now Liberty) became controversial because the NCCL had previously allowed the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) to affiliate with it. Harman worked for the NCCL from 1978–1982. Critics argued that senior NCCL figures should have acted against PIE sooner. Harman has repeatedly said she did not support PIE and regretted its association with the NCCL.

On the second point, I am not aware of reliable evidence that Harriet Harman personally advocated an age of consent of 12. The controversy that surfaced in 2014 involved historic NCCL policy submissions and debates about age-of-consent reform. Harman denied supporting reductions below 16 and specifically denied allegations that she supported reducing the age of consent to 10.

Some historical NCCL documents from the 1970s discussed lower ages of consent, and separate documents associated with NCCL leadership at the time have been cited in media reports. For example, a document linked to Patricia Hewitt was reported as proposing an age of consent of 14, with special provisions where consent of a child over 10 could be proved. Hewitt later apologised for NCCL’s mistakes regarding PIE while denying support for child abuse.

The most accurate summary is:

• Harriet Harman was associated with the NCCL during the period when PIE was affiliated with it.
• There were public allegations and political controversy about that association.
• Harriet Harman has denied supporting PIE or lowering the age of consent below 16.
• I have not found reliable evidence that she personally advocated an age of consent of 14. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/02/how-paedophiles-infiltrated-the-left-harriet-harman-patricia-hewitt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq62dp092nzo

National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) founded in 1934. PIE became affiliated with NCCL in the 1970s. NCCL later severed ties with PIE. NCCL changed its name to Liberty in 1989. Liberty

“Men on 1970s pro-paedophile list could still work with children today”
Published 8 January 2025 by the BBC In Dark Corners podcast team.

The key point clearly: 316-name PIE list, BBC investigated in 2024, found more info on about 45%, and about 70 later had child-facing roles. The source is also reflected in Wikipedia’s PIE entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paedophile_Information_Exchange

Sources

• Harriet Harman (Wikipedia)
• Paedophile Information Exchange (Wikipedia)
• ITV report on Harman response to allegations
• The Guardian article on the controversy
• Patricia Hewitt (Wikipedia)
• 5. This Evil Thing–In Dark Corners – Apple Podcasts
• In Dark Corners | Podcast on Spotify

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