Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

On 4 February 2015, May announced that the inquiry would be chaired by Dame Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand High Court judge who had no ties to the UK bodies and persons likely to be investigated.

In the ensuing investigations, a number of prominent household names in media and politics, among others, were alleged to have been responsible for, and in some cases were convicted of, child sexual abuse.

In June 2014 a cross-party group of seven MPs, co-ordinated by Tim Loughton and Zac Goldsmith, wrote to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, calling on her to set up an overarching investigation into a series of cases in the United Kingdom concerning allegations of historic child sex abuse within government and other institutions.

[12] The initial announcement stated that the inquiry would examine the duty of care taken by British public bodies and other notable institutions in protecting children from sexual abuse.

"[2] The Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, Mark Sedwill, said that Butler-Sloss had promised to "leave no stone unturned", and that he believed her report would "be thorough and complete".

[2] Criticisms were raised over the choice of Butler-Sloss as chair of the inquiry, as she was described as part of "the establishment" due to her membership of the House of Lords and her brother Michael Havers having been Attorney General of England and Wales during the 1980s.

"[2] Former Solicitor-General Vera Baird said that Butler-Sloss was linked through her family "to the very establishment that this inquiry is being set up to look at... She is going to have to investigate the role played by her late brother."

[4] It was announced on 5 September that the new chair would be Fiona Woolf, a City solicitor then Lord Mayor of London, and that she would be assisted by Graham Wilmer, founder of the Lantern Project for abuse victims, and Barbara Hearn, former deputy chief executive of the National Children's Bureau.

[16] In October 2014, the chairing of the inquiry again became contentious after Fiona Woolf disclosed that she lived in the same street in London as Lord (Leon) Brittan and had, amongst other connections with them, invited the Conservative peer and his wife to dinner on three occasions.

Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who had campaigned for the inquiry to be established, told the BBC he thought Woolf should resign, accusing the Home Office of a "total error of judgement”.

[18] However, Woolf told MPs that Brittan was "one of thousands of people" she knew and was not a "close associate"; the government said it continued to back her appointment.

[18] On 22 October 2014, the BBC reported that it had seen a judicial review application launched by a victim of historical child sexual abuse which challenged the choice of Fiona Woolf as the chair of the inquiry on the basis that she is not impartial, has no relevant expertise and may not have time to discharge her duties.

Her decision came on the day that victims and survivors of child abuse said that they were "unanimous" that she should quit, citing her social links with ex-Home Secretary Lord Brittan; their announcement came immediately after a meeting with Home Office officials.

[25] Representatives of abuse survivors groups wrote to May calling for a new inquiry with legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence under oath.

[26] In January 2015, an academic researcher found in The National Archives a reference to a file regarding allegations of "unnatural" sexual behaviour taking place at Westminster that probably went to the Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher) in the early 1980s.

The file was entitled "Allegations against former public [missing word] of unnatural sexual proclivities; security aspects 1980 Oct 27 – 1981 Mar 20."

The Cabinet Office initially stated that any pertinent files would be made available to the forthcoming Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

And it will do so under the leadership of an exceptionally experienced judge.The inquiry opened on 9 July 2015, with an introductory statement by Justice Goddard setting out its procedures, timetables and remit.

She said that the inquiry "provides a unique opportunity to expose past failures of institutions to protect children, to confront those responsible, to uncover systemic failures, to provide support to victims and survivors, in sharing their experiences, and to make recommendations that will help prevent the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the future.

In a statement, Goddard said that she had taken the decision "with regret", and referred to the difficulty she had faced in "relinquishing my career in New Zealand and leaving behind my beloved family", adding: "The conduct of any public inquiry is not an easy task, let alone one of the magnitude of this.

[41] Keith Vaz, the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said that Goddard should give a full explanation of her resignation to MPs, and there were reports of "friction" between her and the inquiry's officials.

[48] The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, said that she had confidence in the Inquiry's leadership, but on 18 November the largest victims' group involved, the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, representing people who had lived in children's homes run by Lambeth Council, said that it was withdrawing from involvement, and described the Inquiry as a "debacle" which "lurched from disaster to disaster".

[50] In June 2017, the group Survivors of Organised and Institutional Abuse (SOIA) withdrew "with deep regret" from the inquiry, as they considered it was "not fit for purpose".

[54] On 2 September 2021, the inquiry published Child protection in religious organisations and settings - Investigation Report, after examining evidence from 38 groups, including sects from Christianity, Orthodox Judaism and Islam.

[55] "Shocking failings" and "blatant hypocrisy" in the way major UK religious groups handle child sex abuse allegations were found.

[3] In accordance with the Inquiry's Terms of Reference, the Report set out the main findings about the extent to which state and non-state institutions failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation and makes recommendations for reform.

[59] However, core participant Stephen Bernard pointed out in a letter in late 2024, after the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation had been forced due to his failure to act on abuse by John Smyth, that none of the recommendations had been implemented, with no progress by the Home Office or the Ministry of Justice; the MoJ had closed a further unnecessary consultation but published no response to the report.