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Ex-royal butler was pervert

2/10/2008

A FORMER butler to the Queen facing jail for a string of child sex attacks was caught after one of his victims saw him bragging about working for the royals in a newspaper.

Paedophile Paul Kidd was boasting about working for the Queen and Queen Mother in an interview for the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death.

A man abused as a child by Kidd in the 1970s was so sickened by last year’s article in our sister paper the Manchester Evening News, he alerted police.

Detectives raided 55-year-old Kidd's home in Stalybridge, Tameside, and found nearly 19,000 indecent images of children on his computer and a disc.

Police then traced two more of Kidd's victims after finding a home-made video showing him abusing one.

That victim, now 18, told police Kidd had met him through church. He suffered a series of indecent acts from the age of 15.

After charges relating to the first two victims were publicised, a third victim contacted police, telling officers Kidd took him to meet the Queen Mother in the 1970s before abusing him from the age of 14. Police say Kidd, who served the royal family for nine years, used his connections to impress his young victims.

He left royal service in 1984 following a cancer scare and later traded on his connections as an after-dinner speaker.

Last year he stood for election as a UK Independent Party candidate in Dukinfield and Stalybridge.

A police source said: "There could be many more victims who haven't come forward yet. Publicity surrounding this case might change that.

"On the face of it, Kidd was very charming but what he did to his victims was disgusting."

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Kidd, of Castlehall View, Stalybridge, admitted 29 counts which included indecent assault, sexual activity with a child and inciting sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images of children. He denied two charges of downloading and possessing child porn, which were ordered to lie on the file.

His co-accused, David Hobday, 56, of St John Street, Dukinfield, admitted six counts of sexual activity with a child and a further count of possessing child porn.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar ordered pre-sentencing reports and adjourned the case until November 20, warning the pair they were likely to go to jail.