Cabinet Office Minister Rob Wilson claimed he received ‘darkly veiled threats’ to drop claims that police failed to warn a young mother she was working with a dangerous paedophile who went on to abuse her son . A Tory Minister is embroiled in an explosive row with Britain’s top policewoman amid claims she ‘threatened’ him over a child sex abuse case. Cabinet Office Minister Rob Wilson said Sara Thornton, the chief constable of Thames Valley Police, tried to stop him raising allegations of police errors in a ‘sickening’ paedophile scandal. Wilson claimed he received ‘darkly veiled threats’ to drop claims that police failed to warn a young mother she was working with a dangerous paedophile who went on to abuse her son. And he said one of the ‘threats’ was made by Ms Thornton. But Ms Thornton, said to be David Cameron’s favourite police leader, hit back angrily last night. In a statement to The Mail on Sunday she rejected the allegations as ‘unfounded’. ‘I categorically deny ever making any sort of threat –veiled or otherwise – to Rob Wilson MP.’ And she said the claims entitled her to sue him for libel. The clash involves a woman who worked as a carer for two disabled children. She did not know their father, David Cullen, was on the Sex Offenders’ Register. He was supposed to be monitored by Thames Valley Police. But the woman claims police blundered by failing to alert her to his paedophile record. Cullen was subsequently jailed for life after abusing her young son 25 times in six months. Mr Wilson, who is the woman’s local MP in Reading, offered to raise her case in the Commons in 2008. But he says police tried to stop him. ‘There were all sorts of darkly veiled threats if I went head-to-head and toe-to-toe with Thames Valley Police,’ he said. ‘I had phone calls from at least two members of the force who rang me up directly about this and tried to stop me raising it in Parliament, even though it was quite clearly the right thing to do. ‘They said things like “Really, Mr Wilson? So early on in your Parliamentary career? Do you want to make an error about getting involved in raising this issue? There may be more to this than meets the eye. You could be getting into a very difficult situation.” ’ The Mail on Sunday has confirmed that Mr Wilson claims Ms Thornton was one of those who tried to deter him. He said he had raised the case not to attack the police but to highlight concerns about how his constituent – who cannot be named as she has a legal right to anonymity – had been dealt with. He said: ‘I wonder whether there is something systemic within the police, that, where difficult personal cases are involved, they don’t want to get involved.’ But Ms Thornton, who is next month set to become the boss of the new National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: ‘Such allegations are unfounded and libellous. I will be writing to Mr Wilson directly to seek clarification on exactly what he has alleged. ‘I am extremely concerned that such serious allegations, relating to alleged events over six years ago, now appear to have been made via the media and not with the force directly via any formal complaint, either at the time of the case in 2006 or at any point since.’ But defiant Mr Wilson last night stood by his claims. He criticised Ms Thornton for threatening to sue him and claimed she was continuing to try to stop the matter being discussed openly. He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I absolutely stand by my comments. The purpose was to draw attention to the fact that mistakes had been made by Thames Valley Police in the past. 'Unfounded': Thames Valley chief constable Sara Thornton has categorically denied making any threats . ‘It is very disappointing that Sara Thornton is making legal threats which will prevent proper open discussion. From the very beginning I have sought transparency and openness and it is a shame that the police are still seeking to close down a reasonable and honest debate. ‘My intention is to ensure that should similar cases arise in the future, they are dealt with properly.’ Mr Wilson previously led criticism of the BBC for failing to report the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal. Last year he was promoted to the Cabinet Office where he is responsible for the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War. His differences with Ms Thornton follow criticism of Thames Valley Police over the way it handled the Oxfordshire child sex scandal in which as many as 373 children could have been targeted for sex by gangs of men over the last 16 years. Earlier this month, Ms Thornton repeated an apology to victims and their families after an official review found the force had made mistakes. Mr Wilson said he referred obliquely to the conduct of police when he defied the alleged ’threats’ and raised the matter in a Commons debate in 2008 when he said he was there ‘to represent my constituents without fear and favour.’ In a BBC interview, the mother whose child was abused by Cullen claimed police had placed his human rights over their duty to her child. She said: ‘They told me he had human rights. And I said what about my human rights? What about my son’s human rights? I had the right to protect my son.’
Cabinet Office Minister Rob Wilson claim to receive ‘darkly veiled threats’
Says he tried to raise concerns about mother not told about a paedophile . The man, who she worked with, went on to abuse the young woman's son . Thames Valley Police chief constable Sara Thornton told him to drop it . Ms Thornton has strongly rejected the threat allegations as 'unfounded'