Lord Brittan himself is almost certain to give evidence to the inquiry about a missing dossier on high-profile child abusers that he was handed 30 years ago.
Mrs Woolf has been to five dinner parties with him, met his wife for coffee at least twice – and also worked with both of them on City organisations.
Almost everyone said they could not support the inquiry while Mrs Woolf remained its chairman – little knowing she had already decided to quit.
However, some said that other important aspects were discussed at the meeting. It was universally agreed by those present that the probe, already delayed after original chairman Baroness Butler-Sloss had to quit over perceived conflicts of interest, must be turned into a full-blown statutory inquiry – so that institutions such as churches, schools and care homes can be forced to hand over damning evidence of how children were abused and perpetrators escaped justice.
Many want it to be led by a judge with experience of child abuse cases. The Home Secretary will announce the next steps in Parliament tomorrow but campaigners said unless she makes significant changes, all confidence in the inquiry will be lost.
Downing Street will be keeping a close eye on the selection process for Mrs Woolf’s replacement, to avoid the embarrassment of a third chairman having to step down.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, said: ‘This extraordinary series of events marks an early start to the pantomime season; not so much Little Red Riding Hood meeting the wolf but probably Snow White and the Seven Drafts.’
His group of MPs will hold a confirmation hearing for the replacement chairman.
Mr Vaz said: ‘We must make urgent progress in this inquiry. If we fail to do so, this will be the ultimate betrayal of the victims.’
THE MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Fiona Woolf, a political farce... and the power of a free press
Fiona Woolf’s resignation as head of the Government’s inquiry into historic child abuse was an acceptance of the inevitable.
Mrs Woolf’s departure came two months after The Mail on Sunday first produced evidence of her close ties to Leon Brittan, who as Home Secretary in the 1980s was handed the notorious – and now missing – dossier detailing alleged assaults by Establishment figures.
Over subsequent weeks, as we established a consistent pattern of connections between Mrs Woolf and Lord Brittan, we questioned how the current Home Secretary, Theresa May, could possibly stand by the appointment.
Mrs Woolf remained stubbornly in place, even as other media outlets took up our campaign and after it emerged that she had shared a dinner table with the peer on no fewer than five occasions.
The Home Office flatly refused to acknowledge these concerns or explain why it had failed to carry out due diligence prior to her appointment.
Even her resignation has now been tainted by her admission that she had decided to quit earlier in the week and warned the Home Office of her intentions. She finally departed only after victims and campaigners had been invited to discuss her future at a meeting which they suspect was a sham designed to allow her to step down with some of her dignity intact.
The unpalatable implication is that she and Mrs May cared more about their own political reputations than they did about the integrity of the inquiry process.
Certainly, when Mrs Woolf did finally jump it came during the doldrums of Friday afternoon – the classic time when Government spin doctors like to ‘bury bad news’ – and in a carefully controlled manner. It didn’t work: yesterday’s newspapers were full of the story.
Her announcement has vindicated this newspaper’s decision to investigate her appointment. At no stage did we call into question Mrs Woolf’s competence or integrity. But we believe we were right to question whether she would command the trust of the victims of child abuse.
Press freedom in Britain has never been in greater peril.
The police are using ‘snoopers’ legislation to identify journalists’ sources, Europe is allowing people to be excised from internet history under its ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling and there are dark rumblings from the politicians about ever more restrictive regulation.
The Woolf affair has been a reminder of the need to protect our tradition of fearless investigative journalism as part of a vibrant press.
