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| Fiona Woolf resigns as chair of government’s child abuse inquiry | Fiona Woolf resigns as chair of government’s child abuse inquiry |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The government’s child sex abuse inquiry was thrown into crisis after Fiona Woolf became the second senior legal figure to quit as chair over her links to the Westminster political establishment. | The government’s child sex abuse inquiry was thrown into crisis after Fiona Woolf became the second senior legal figure to quit as chair over her links to the Westminster political establishment. |
| Woolf’s departure is a major embarrassment for the government and raises questions about the judgment of the home secretary, Theresa May, just months after retired judge Lady Butler-Sloss stepped down over similar concerns. | Woolf’s departure is a major embarrassment for the government and raises questions about the judgment of the home secretary, Theresa May, just months after retired judge Lady Butler-Sloss stepped down over similar concerns. |
| Woolf’s exit has left the inquiry without a chair and exposed concerns about the whole process overseen by the Home Office. Victims’ groups who pressed for Woolf to step down are now also calling for a much tougher judge-led inquiry. Alison Millar, head of the abuse team at law firm Leigh Day, which represents victims, said her clients were pleased that Woolf had stepped down. | Woolf’s exit has left the inquiry without a chair and exposed concerns about the whole process overseen by the Home Office. Victims’ groups who pressed for Woolf to step down are now also calling for a much tougher judge-led inquiry. Alison Millar, head of the abuse team at law firm Leigh Day, which represents victims, said her clients were pleased that Woolf had stepped down. |
| “Now the work begins for a proper inquiry which listens to the survivors and supports them in giving their evidence to an experienced panel,” she said. | “Now the work begins for a proper inquiry which listens to the survivors and supports them in giving their evidence to an experienced panel,” she said. |
| “The terms of reference must be based on the needs of survivors and must cover the scale of abuse which is slowly coming to light across the UK.” | “The terms of reference must be based on the needs of survivors and must cover the scale of abuse which is slowly coming to light across the UK.” |
| Woolf lost the support of victims’ groups after it emerged that she was a friend and neighbour of the former home secretary Leon Brittan, whose role in dealing with allegations of child abuse in the 1980s is likely to come under scrutiny. | Woolf lost the support of victims’ groups after it emerged that she was a friend and neighbour of the former home secretary Leon Brittan, whose role in dealing with allegations of child abuse in the 1980s is likely to come under scrutiny. |
| One claim at the heart of the inquiry is that a dossier containing accusations about Westminster paedophile activity went missing from his department during the 1980s. He denies any failure to act and there is a letter suggesting it should have been passed on to police. | One claim at the heart of the inquiry is that a dossier containing accusations about Westminster paedophile activity went missing from his department during the 1980s. He denies any failure to act and there is a letter suggesting it should have been passed on to police. |
| Calls for Woolf to resign intensified after it emerged that the Home Office had helped her rewrite a letter detailing her contacts with Lord Brittan seven times in a way that played down their relationship. | Calls for Woolf to resign intensified after it emerged that the Home Office had helped her rewrite a letter detailing her contacts with Lord Brittan seven times in a way that played down their relationship. |
| In interviews, Woolf said she realised she needed to “get out of the way” after losing the confidence of victims. “I am obviously sad that people are not confident in my ability to chair what is a hugely important inquiry impartially,” she said. “I don’t think that it was going to be possible for me to chair it without everybody’s support.” | In interviews, Woolf said she realised she needed to “get out of the way” after losing the confidence of victims. “I am obviously sad that people are not confident in my ability to chair what is a hugely important inquiry impartially,” she said. “I don’t think that it was going to be possible for me to chair it without everybody’s support.” |
| May said she accepted the resignation with regret, given that she believed Woolf “would have carried out her duties with integrity, impartiality and to the highest standard”. | May said she accepted the resignation with regret, given that she believed Woolf “would have carried out her duties with integrity, impartiality and to the highest standard”. |
| Her role in the affair is likely to come in for intense criticism, as the government said it had done “due diligence” on Woolf and promised she was less of an establishment choice than Butler-Sloss. | Her role in the affair is likely to come in for intense criticism, as the government said it had done “due diligence” on Woolf and promised she was less of an establishment choice than Butler-Sloss. |
| Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said Woolf had done the right thing by stepping down but May needed to explain why background checks had not been carried out which would have revealed links between the inquiry chief and Brittan. | Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said Woolf had done the right thing by stepping down but May needed to explain why background checks had not been carried out which would have revealed links between the inquiry chief and Brittan. |
| “It seems inexplicable, given what happened to the first head of the inquiry, that some basic questions were not asked of Fiona Woolf, before she was appointed, about her connections,” he said. | “It seems inexplicable, given what happened to the first head of the inquiry, that some basic questions were not asked of Fiona Woolf, before she was appointed, about her connections,” he said. |
| The home secretary will make a statement to MPs on Monday and has promised to personally consult victims’ groups, as well as having a pre-appointment hearing with the Commons home affairs committee. But May has come under fire for sending officials in her place to a meeting with survivors and their legal representatives on Friday. Some said they had not been guaranteed expenses by the Home Office for travelling to the meeting, although they had come from all over the country. | The home secretary will make a statement to MPs on Monday and has promised to personally consult victims’ groups, as well as having a pre-appointment hearing with the Commons home affairs committee. But May has come under fire for sending officials in her place to a meeting with survivors and their legal representatives on Friday. Some said they had not been guaranteed expenses by the Home Office for travelling to the meeting, although they had come from all over the country. |
| The rest of the panel of experts appointed to the inquiry will begin work without a chair in order to make some progress. | The rest of the panel of experts appointed to the inquiry will begin work without a chair in order to make some progress. |
| The Labour MP Tom Watson warned his party against getting its knives out for May, saying she was the wrong target and it would politicise the inquiry. “Labour should not go after May, though we probably will,” he said. “I have a sense there may be some Tories who want to as well. But the key thing is to try to get something positive out of it … There are plenty of people who have the intelligence and independence to do the job.” | The Labour MP Tom Watson warned his party against getting its knives out for May, saying she was the wrong target and it would politicise the inquiry. “Labour should not go after May, though we probably will,” he said. “I have a sense there may be some Tories who want to as well. But the key thing is to try to get something positive out of it … There are plenty of people who have the intelligence and independence to do the job.” |
| Woolf’s departure is a huge blow for the government, coming after Butler-Sloss had to quit as the previous chair of the inquiry because her late brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general in the 1980s. | Woolf’s departure is a huge blow for the government, coming after Butler-Sloss had to quit as the previous chair of the inquiry because her late brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general in the 1980s. |
| Woolf warned that it could now be difficult to find a suitable replacement willing to take on the role in the face of intense media scrutiny. | Woolf warned that it could now be difficult to find a suitable replacement willing to take on the role in the face of intense media scrutiny. |
| “It is really going to be hard to find someone with no connections. A hermit?” she said. | “It is really going to be hard to find someone with no connections. A hermit?” she said. |
| She added: “This inquiry needs to get on with the job. Above all it needs to report in a timescale that doesn’t take 10 years.” | She added: “This inquiry needs to get on with the job. Above all it needs to report in a timescale that doesn’t take 10 years.” |
| Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, welcomed Woolf’s resignation but said the whole process had been “chaotic”. | Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, welcomed Woolf’s resignation but said the whole process had been “chaotic”. |
| He told the BBC: “Given the concerns of the victims and the information that was given to the select committee that we released yesterday, it was the right thing to do. | He told the BBC: “Given the concerns of the victims and the information that was given to the select committee that we released yesterday, it was the right thing to do. |
| “The real problem in all this has been the process. This is the second head of the inquiry who has gone and I would have thought it would have been better all round if she had made these disclosures at the beginning. | “The real problem in all this has been the process. This is the second head of the inquiry who has gone and I would have thought it would have been better all round if she had made these disclosures at the beginning. |
| “I think it’s essential that there should be proper scrutiny and [an] open, robust, vigorous, appointment process but also one that, before it even begins, there needs to be full consultation with stake holders for the next name. | “I think it’s essential that there should be proper scrutiny and [an] open, robust, vigorous, appointment process but also one that, before it even begins, there needs to be full consultation with stake holders for the next name. |
| “This has been chaotic. Look at the way in which this matter has been dealt with, it has been so badly put together. | “This has been chaotic. Look at the way in which this matter has been dealt with, it has been so badly put together. |
| “It is wrong for them [the Home Office] to have conducted this process in such a way that two very distinguished women who are path finders in their fields should have had to have resign from the inquiry.” | “It is wrong for them [the Home Office] to have conducted this process in such a way that two very distinguished women who are path finders in their fields should have had to have resign from the inquiry.” |
| Timeline | |
| 7 July The home secretary, Theresa May announces an inquiry into allegations of an institutional cover-up of child sexual abuse, chaired by Lady Butler-Sloss. | |
| 9 July Campaigners call for Butler-Sloss to stand down because her brother was attorney general in the 1980s, when abuse allegedly occurred. She refuses. | |
| 12 July Home Office backs Butler-Sloss “unreservedly” to head the inquiry. | |
| 14 July Butler-Sloss yields to mounting pressure and stands down. | |
| 5 September May unveils Fiona Woolf, lord mayor of London, as the new chair of the inquiry. | |
| 21 October Woolf discloses she lived on the same street as Lord Brittan, who is at centre of cover-up claims, and had invited the Brittans to dinner. | |
| 22 October A victim of abuse tries to challenge choice of Woolf via courts. | |
| 31 October Victims’ groups tell officials they are “unanimous” Woolf should quit. She resigns. | |
| Martin Williams |