New Zealand high court judge named as new chair of child abuse inquiry

By Alan Travis
Guardian
February 4, 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/04/new-zealand-high-court-judge-lowell-goddard-appointed-chair-child-abuse-inquiry

Justice Lowell Goddard has been named as chair of the troubled child abuse inquiry.

A New Zealand high court judge is to be the new head of the official inquiry into child abuse, the home secretary, Theresa May, has announced.

Justice Lowell Goddard, who has already conducted one inquiry into the police handling of child abuse in New Zealand, said she was well aware of the scale of the “crucial inquiry” that faced her.

“The inquiry will be long, challenging and complex,” she said. “The many, many survivors of child sexual abuse, committed over decades, deserve a robust and thorough investigation of the appalling crimes perpetrated on them. It is vitally important that their voices are now being heard.”

Goddard, who will arrive in Britain next week when she will face a confirmation hearing before the Commons home affairs committee, said she was committed to “leading a robust and independent inquiry that will act on these matters without fear or favour and will hold those responsible to account”.

She added: “The outcome of the inquiry must ensure that the children of today and the future will not only be protected from such dreadful exploitation but empowered to combat it.”

Goddard’s appointment as the third head of the troubled inquiry was immediately welcomed by survivors’ groups and MPs after May made clear her renewed determination to expose “the hard truths” about past child sex abuse, those who had failed to act and those who “positively covered up evidence of abuse”.

May also confirmed she was to disband the current inquiry panel, which has been repeatedly hit by leaks of confidential information and allegations of bullying. A new statutory inquiry is to be set up with a fresh panel and terms of reference.

The home secretary told MPs that the inquiry was now likely to examine cases earlier than its current 1970 cut-off date, with survivors’ groups pressing for cases as far back as 1945 to be included. However she made clear the investigation would not extend beyond its current geographical remit of England and Wales.

She also demonstrated her confidence in Ben Emmerson QC, the current counsel to the inquiry who has faced allegations of bullying by one panel member that have proved to be unfounded. Emmerson is to continue in his role.

Emmerson said the constitution of a statutory inquiry means it will now have powers to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence by institutions and individuals.

He said: “Justice Goddard and her legal advisers will be able to review open and classified sources. This new inquiry will therefore have all the powers it needs to penetrate deeply into the institutions that have failed children in the past, and to identify those institutions that are reportedly continuing to fail children today. And it will do so under the leadership of an exceptionally experienced judge.”

The home secretary also reassured MPs that the Official Secrets Act would not be a bar on those giving evidence to the inquiry and all government departments would be asked to cooperate including in the provision of secret information.

She also said a “small number” of further Cabinet Office files had been identified, in addition to the file on Sir Peter Hayman discovered in the National Archives, which should have been passed to last summer’s Home Office inquiry. They will be passed to the inquiry and police.