Thorpe affair insurance card prevented him from claiming benefits. By this time, Thorpe had succeeded Jo Grimond as leader of the Liberal Party. To resolve Scott's immediate problems, and to prevent a resumption of his tirades against the new party leader, Bessell began paying him a "retainer" of between £5 and £10 a week, ostensibly in lieu of lost national insurance benefits. Bessell also arranged Scott's new passport, but by this time Scott had abandoned his American plans and wished to establish a career as a model. He asked Bessell for £200 to set him up; Bessell refused, but in May 1968
Michael Ramsey the debate club and spoke at various places in the United States. Then upon return, he heard a Liberal Party leader, Lord Hugh Cecil remark that the Church was the place to go if you wanted to help people, and he heard that as his vocation from God. He remained a Liberal, and became close friends with Jeremy Thorpe, leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 until his sudden resignation in 1976. Ramsey and Joan, his wife, were godparents of Thorpe's son Rupert whom Ramsey baptized in 1969, and Ramsey officiated at Thorpe's second marriage to Marion, after his first