Therese May to outline details of inquiry following sex abuse scandal
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The Home Secretary is to inform MPs of plans to consult victims before appointing a new chair for the child sex abuse inquiry.
It was only recently that Fiona Woolf resigned stating victims of the abuse controversy had no confidence in her. This was also due to her connection to ex-Home Secretary Lord Brittan, whose handling of abuse claims in the 1980s raised doubts.
Theresa May is to make a statement to Parliament about how the inquiry will proceed following Woolf’s resignation. She will also announce plans to seek the approval of MPs before the next person takes up the role.
Commons Leader William Hague has said the inquiry will continue its work whilst a new chairman is selected. Labour has said the candidate must have the backing of abuse victims, while Lib Dem member Lord Carlile said they should have experience of dealing with child abuse and child protection.
The issue stemmed from allegations that paedophiles in high positions were covering up their crimes for many years.
An inquiry was announced in July to look at how public bodies and other institutions failed to handle claims of child sex abuse from the 1970s to present day.
The first chair, Baroness Butler-Sloss, stepped down a mere week after being appointed when concerns were raised regarding her late brother being attorney general during the 1980s.
Mrs Woolf’s ascension to the position was criticised by victims after it emerged she had social links to former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, who may give evidence during the inquiry. He denies any wrongdoing in the way the investigation on alleged high-profile paedophiles was handled.
Woolf admits she had lived in the same street as Lord Brittan and had dinner with him five times between 2008 and 2012, but said he was not a “close associate”.
Further doubts were cast when Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz revealed a letter she sent to the committee about her relationship with Brittan was re-written seven times until the final version displayed a “sense of greater detachment”.
