Party in Westminster knew nothing about the allegations concerning Cyril Smith at or after the time he was selected as PPC for Rochdale is highly unlikely." Meadowcroft was also interviewed as part of the programme The Paedophile MP: How Cyril Smith Got Away With It, in Channel 4's Dispatches series (12 September 2013), in which he said that he had heard that Cyril Smith liked boys but considered these "symptomatic of the unpleasant gossip that permeated Westminster". In 2015, Meadowcroft was interviewed by Greater Manchester Police on his knowledge of Cyril Smith. He disclosed that, after the Dispatches programme of September 2013, he was e-mailed by a Jill Pratt about how she had reported allegations against Cyril Smith to the Liberal Party's leadership in 1970. Political philosophy and views A biography by Mark Smulian described Meadowcroft as "the main, indeed very nearly the only, philosopher of applied Liberalism within the old Liberal Party from the late 1960s onwards". He has published a large number of books and pamphlets on his views. He has regularly argued for the importance of political philosophy and that the members of the Liberal Democrats require more conviction in their beliefs. In a 1984 interview with the newspaper Leeds Student, Meadowcroft described himself as "an anarchist at heart, but constitutionalist by conviction". His views on foreign policy at the time were described as "exceedingly radical" for a Liberal, as he opposed the deployment of troops to Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and membership of NATO. In an earlier (1979) interview with a Christian magazine, Meadowcroft advocated a United Ireland. Meadowcroft is a member of the world citizenship movement and supports a democratically constituted world government. He supports open borders in principle, but wrote of border controls in 2001, "their removal overnight in a single operation would provoke immigration to Britain at an artificially high level". Whilst a member of the post-1988 Liberal Party, he authored two editions of Focus on Freedom: the case for the Liberal Party, which explained the philosophy behind the party's manifesto. Political positions outlined in the book include support for the following: The Single Transferable Vote electoral system but opposition to the party list system. The UK's withdrawal from NATO and the establishment in turn of a European Security Force to contribute to missions of the United Nations. Meadowcroft stated that Liberals opposed both the Gulf War and the Kosovo War. Support