Child sex abuse inquiry to focus on churches and politicians
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Version 1 of 8. The independent inquiry into child sex abuse in England and Wales is to include current and former MPs, the Anglican and Catholic church, local councils, schools and young offender institutions. Outlining an investigation with 12 distinct lines of inquiry, each with its own timetable of public hearings, chair Justice Lowell Goddard said churches and councils in Lambeth, Nottinghamshire and Rochdale would be among the first areas investigated. She added that the inquiry would investigate high-profile allegations of a child sex abuse ring operating in Westminster, including sitting and former members of parliament, senior civil servants and government advisers. Goddard said: “The investigation will focus on high-profile allegations of child sexual abuse involving current or former members of parliament, senior civil servants, government advisers and members of intelligence and security agencies. “It will consider allegations of cover-up and conspiracy and review the adequacy of law enforcement responses to these allegations.” Among the other lines of investigation outlined w ere inquiries into Medomsley juvenile detention centre in County Durham, in connection with which Goddard said she had already received “many hundreds” of allegations of abuse. She said: “The apparent scale of abuse at Medomsley demands a rigorous inquiry into how such allegations, if true, could have gone uninvestigated and the offending undetected for so long. Our inquiry will pose probing questions of the secure estate for children and young people, the police and the criminal justice system.” The investigation would also focus on child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches following a series of scandals involving senior clergymen, she said, adding that regional truth centres for victims would be set up next year. On the investigation into the Anglican church, Goddard said: “As a case study we will consider the experience of the diocese of Chichester, a diocese that has been beset by allegations of sexual abuse and subject to numerous investigations, reviews and inquiries. “We will also consider the case of former bishop of Lewes, and subsequent bishop of Gloucester, Peter Ball, and investigate whether there were inappropriate attempts by people of prominence to interfere in criminal justices processes after he was first accused of child sexual offences.” Goddard’s investigation was set up last year following claims of a high-level cover-up of abuse and has been beset by delays following the resignations of two previous chairwomen. It will be Britain’s largest-ever public inquiry and is expected to take up to five years and cost tens of millions of pounds. She added: “There is no doubt that the task we have set ourselves is ambitious. To run 12 investigations in parallel represents an organisational challenge that is unprecedented in a public inquiry in the United Kingdom. “We are determined to succeed and expect full co-operation of all institutions and individuals who can assist us in our work.” The Church of England welcomed its inclusion in the inquiry. The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the bishop of Durham, Paul Butler, had publicly called for the church to be among the first institutions to be investigated by the Goddard inquiry.“We’re absolutely clear that the Church of England and other churches need to be involved in this inquiry as we already know there are parts of our history that involve church people having committed abuse,” Butler said in July last year.“So we have to be investigated just like anybody else and there will probably be some unpleasant and difficult stories to handle and I accept that’s part of the reality.”In October, Welby said he would consider launching his own inquiry if Goddard’s investigation did not tackle the church within its first six months. Church leaders had sought a comprehensive and statutory public inquiry into sexual abuse, said a church source. “It’s necessary, it’s important, and we don’t want to hide it away,” the source said.There have been numerous cases of sexual abuse within the church. Last month the former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, Peter Ball, was jailed for the sexual exploitation and abuse of 18 vulnerable young men, who had come to him for spiritual guidance and inspiration between 1977 and 1992. A few weeks later the church issued a formal apology to an alleged victim of one of the most admired figures in the church, George Bell, the bishop of Chichester, who died 57 years ago. The Catholic church, which has also seen a string of cases of sexual abuse by clergy dating back decades, declined to comment on Goddard’s announcement. |