Theresa May allowed GCHQ spy chief to resign for 'family reasons' after he helped PAEDOPHILE Catholic priest avoid jail - despite media being told he would be 'caring for a sick relative'
Robert Hannigan helped a paedophile priest avoid jail, Mail on Sunday reveals
He stunned Whitehall with his exit after just two years in charge of GCHQ
The MoS learned he stepped down after the NCA discovered he helped a family friend avoid a custodial sentence for possessing 174 child pornography images
Mr Hannigan provided a reference for Father Edmund Higgins at his 2013 trial.
One of Britain’s top spy chiefs quit after it emerged that he helped a paedophile Catholic priest avoid jail, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Prime Minister Theresa May was last night accused of a cover-up over the scandal as she knew of GCHQ director Robert Hannigan’s connection to the child sex offender when he stood down in 2017.
At the time, Mr Hannigan had cited ‘family reasons’, with this crucial link kept secret.
The high-flying civil servant, who was lauded for his role in striking peace in Northern Ireland, stunned Whitehall with his exit after just two years in charge of GCHQ.
After Mr Hannigan provided a character reference for Father Edmund Higgins at his 2013 trial, the priest’s eight-month sentence was suspended. The judge said Higgins had ‘struggled with his sexuality’. But Higgins went on to reoffend, and during an NCA probe his links to Mr Hannigan were discovered and No 10 was alerted.
The powerful mandarin gave the reference ‘in good faith’ a year before his appointment as director of the 5,000-strong Government Communications Headquarters, the notoriously secretive eavesdropping agency.