Baroness Butler-sloss to Lead Paedophila Inquiry

Wales Online
July 8, 2014

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/baroness-butler-sloss-lead-paedophila-inquiry-7393180

Baroness Butler-Sloss

Former High Court judge Baroness Butler-Sloss is to lead the independent inquiry into child sex abuse, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced.

The investigation is into the handling of allegations of paedophilia by state institutions as well as bodies such as the BBC, churches and political parties.

Crossbench peer Baroness Butler-Sloss is the former president of the family division of the High Court and chaired the Cleveland child abuse inquiry in the late 1980s.

Mrs May said: “In recent years, we have seen appalling cases of organised and persistent child sex abuse that have exposed serious failings by public bodies and important institutions.

“That is why the Government has established an independent panel of experts to consider whether these organisations have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.”

The inquiry will be given access to all Government papers it requests, and could be converted into a full public inquiry if the peer feels it is necessary.

Its terms of reference for the investigation, which was announced yesterday, and membership of the panel are still being finalised.

Baroness Butler-Sloss said: “I’m honoured to have been invited to lead this inquiry. The next step is to appoint the panel and agree the terms of reference.

“We will begin this important work as soon as possible.”

Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman said that Mrs May and Baroness Butler-Sloss will be discussing the terms of reference of the broader inquiry and the identities of other panel members, with announcements expected “within days rather than weeks”.

Asked whether Baroness Butler-Sloss’s experience as the chair of an inquiry into the 1987 Cleveland child sex abuse scandal was a factor in her choice to lead the current probe, the spokesman said: “It is one of the reasons, but not the only one.

“She was president of the High Court Family Division as well.

“It is the very wide respect that her professional expertise as well as her personal integrity commands that makes her a very strong appointment for this role. ”