BY LUCY CAULKETT
At last, an inquiry into historical sex child abuse in England and Wales will be conducted by a New Zealand High Court Judge, Lowell Goddard. Home Secretary, Theresa May announced in the House of Commons that the inquiry will have new statutory powers and a new panel. The choice of Justice Goddard is based on her apparent detachment from the organisations and institutions that are the focus of the inquiry.
Goodard has pledged commitment to ”leading a robust and independent enquiry” and according to Peter Saunders, the chief executive of the National association for people abused in childhood, would enhance the whole credibility of the inquiry”. The Auckland born judge has experience in leading an inquiry into police handing of child abuse cases in New Zealand, and her role empowers her to force witnesses to attend and give evidence as well as force them to provide documentary evidence.
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The inquiry which was sparked by claims of Paedophiles operating in Westminster in the 1980’s, will investigate whether public bodies and other non- state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales.
Endorsing the well placed Aussie Judge, Theresa May said Justice Lowell was a ‘highly respected ” member of the judiciary and an ”outstanding candidate with experience in challenging authority in this field”. ”We must leave no stone unturned if we are to take this once in a generation opportunity to get the truth” May declared.
May added that Goddard will face a ”pre-appointment hearing ” before the Home Affairs Committee of MP’s on 11 February to ensure further transparency”, and there will be a ”co-ordinated national policing response” to follow up any lead the inquiry uncovers” .
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Justice Goddard confirmed she was honoured to lead the inquiry, and acknowledged the scale of the undertaking, adding ”the many, many survivors of child sexual abuse, committed over decades, deserve a robust and thorough investigation of the appalling crimes perpetrated upon them”.
HELD TO ACCOUNT
Last year revealed an embarrassing failure on the part of the State to hold those responsible to account, questioning the credibility of the Home Secretary and her team to effectively address this evil offence. Theresa May must now be applauded for addressing this disturbing issue that has allegedly been committed by those in high positions and responding to calls my Labour MP, Simon Danczuk for a statutory inquiry.
The Labour MP has asked for work to begin before the general elections in May, hopefully allowing for the possibility for ‘heads to roll’ on account of this shameful and wicked act of abuse committed by powerful individuals. Baroness Butler- Sloss had been Theresa May’s first choice, but was forced to quit because her late brother, Sir Michael Havers was Attorney general in the 1980’s. May’s subsequent choice of Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, also had to stand down over concerns she was linked to former Home Secretary, Lord Brittan.
Eventually, a strong woman who will relish the opportunity to demonstrate her strength of character and ability, will oversee this case, and hopefully expose the monsters who betrayed their position of trust and went to extreme lengths to commit atrocious acts against humanity, hoping to evade capture indefinitely. Good thing many of the accused are not dead like the legendary pervert called Jimmy Saville who managed to evade prosecution until he was well and truly dead.
This inquiry should be very revealing.
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