David Cameron warns against pedophilia ‘witch hunt’ targeting gays

British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned of a "witch hunt" targeting gay people amid accusations of pedophilia against senior Conservative politicians.

Cameron made his comments after being confronted on daytime TV with a list circulating on the internet about Conservative Party politicians possibly involved in child sex abuse allegations.

The list, presented to the presenter of ITV1's "This Morning," Phillip Schofield, was accidentally briefly flashed on air, The Guardian reported.

According to the BBC, historic allegations of a pedophile ring linked to No 10. Downing Street were raised by Labour lawmaker Tom Watson a fortnight ago.

Allegations about the activities of the late BBC television presenter Jimmy Savile have also set off a string of official inquiries into child abuse.

More from GlobalPost: My life with sex criminal Jimmy Savile

Cameron, meantime, has authorized two new inquiries into widespread child abuse at foster homes and other institutions for vulnerable young people in Wales in the 1970s and 1980s, the Associated Press reported.

During the live interview in ITV1, Schofield handed Cameron a card with names on it, saying that they were people Cameron knew and asking whether he would be talking to them.

He said he found the names by spending "about three minutes" trawling the internet.  

Cameron reacted to the list by saying:

"There is a danger if we are not careful that this can turn into a sort of witch hunt, particularly about people who are gay, and I'm worried about the sort of thing you are doing right now, taking a list of names off the Internet… I do think it's very important that anyone who's got any information about any pedophile, no matter how high up in the country, or whether they are alive or dead, go to the police."

Later, Downing Street branded the episode as a "silly stunt," according to The Telegraph.

Schofield later apologized for revealing the names, blaming a "misjudged camera angle," and said:

"If any viewer was able to identify anyone listed, I would like to apologize and stress that was never my intention. I was not accusing anyone of anything and it is essential that it is understood that I would never be part of any kind of witch hunt. Unfortunately there may have been a misjudged camera angle for a split second as I showed the Prime Minister some information I had obtained from the internet."

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