May facing questions over failure to publish explosive report ..., by Tom Mctague, Daily Mail (November 3, 2014)

May facing questions over failure to publish explosive report into missing child abuse dossier handed to Home Office in 1980s

Theresa May is facing further questions over her handling of historic allegations of child abuse this morning – after it emerged she has failed to publish a crucial report on the Home Office's record of dealing with paedophile claims.

Mrs May has been accused of delaying the release of the report, compiled by NSPCC chief Peter Wanless, into how the Home Office dealt with a dossier of child abuse allegations delivered to former Home Secretary Leon Brittan in the 1980s.

The revelation comes as Mrs May faces growing pressure over her handling of the wider inquiry into historic child abuse which has been left in chaos after Fiona Woolf became the second chairman to quit before its investigations had even begun.

Commons leader William Hague yesterday revealed Mrs May could order the inquiry to start work without a chairman.

Mrs Woolf stood down on Friday after victims unanimously attacked her appointment over her links to the Tory peer Leon Brittan.

Lord Brittan is accused of failing to act on the dossier of child abuse allegations given to him when he Home Secretary in the 1980s by Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens.

Mrs Woolf's resignation came after the first choice to head up the inquiry, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, quit the role in July because he late brother Michael Havers was Attorney General in Margaret Thatcher's government.

It has now emerged that Mrs May was sent a review on October 15 by the NSPCC's Mr Wanless, who was tasked with looking into the way the Home Office dealt with an investigation into child abuse allegations between 1979 and 1999.

But the department is refusing to make that review public at this stage, with a spokesman saying there is no specific date yet for its release as May is still considering the 'substantial' document.

Mr Wanless told the Guardian he wanted the report to published as soon as possible. But he added: 'It was requested by the home secretary so it is for her to decide on when to publish and explain timing.'

Mrs May is set to be grilled by MPs in the Commons this afternoon amid growing criticism of her handling of the inquiries. Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said they inquiries had descended in 'chaos'.

It comes after it emerged two senior lawyers rejected the opportunity to lead the inquiry into child sexual abuse before ministers appointed Mrs Woolf.

It has now emerged that Baroness Kennedy and Lady Justice Hallett were previously approached about the position before Mrs Woolf was appointed.

They had been on a 'long list' of candidates but said they were not interested, the Sunday Times reported.

The two women had been named as possible successors to Mrs Woolf over the weekend, which now appears unlikely.

A source told the newspaper that both women had indicated they did not want to take on the position earlier this year, and Mrs Woolf was not the first choice for the role.

Another official confirmed there had been 'a listing process which involved some preliminary conversations with different people.'

Lady Justice Hallett is vice president of the criminal division of the Court of Appeal - a position she took on in November 2013.

Baroness Kennedy is a British barrister and broadcaster.

Mrs Woolf, a solicitor and Lord Mayor of London, resigned on Friday after pressure from victims support groups. She had lost their trust over her connections to Brittan - a Tory peer who is accused of failing to act when he was presented with a dossier of evidence about an alleged sex ring.

Lord Brittan has strenuously denied accusations that he ignored a document – which later went missing – that detailed a paedophile ring involving high-profile figures.

However he is likely to be called to the inquiry.

Peter Saunders, of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, last week said Mrs Woolf was 'someone would we would not be able to work with were she to remain in place' because of her connections to Brittan.

It was also claimed that Mrs Woolf had tried to downplay her connections to the former cabinet minister and his wife after a photograph emerged of her chatting to Lady Brittan last October. Mrs Woolf had claimed she had no social connections to Lady Brittan.

Mrs May now has the difficult task of finding someone to replace Ms Woolf to lead the inquiry.

The inquiry was launched after allegations that there had been an Establishment cover-up of child sexual abuse claims in the 1980s.

Esther Rantzen has already rebuffed any suggestion she could take on the role saying that because she heard rumours about Jimmy Savile as a junior researcher a number of people already felt she had let them down.

But Mrs May could have more luck with Michael Mansfield, a socialist lawyer, who told the BBC 'I am very prepared to consider it.'