Plagued by delays - already on its THIRD chairman... Child abuse inquiry costs us £5k a day

By Martin Beckford
Daily Mail
July 4, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3149739/Plagued-delays-chairman-Child-abuse-inquiry-costs-5k-day.html

In the year since it was set up by David Cameron to examine claims of VIP paedophile rings and Establishment cover-ups, the inquiry has been mired in controversy

New boss: Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge drafted in to get a grip on the troubled investigation

The scandal-hit inquiry into child abuse has already cost taxpayers more than £1.2 million – before it has questioned a single witness.

In the year since it was set up by David Cameron to examine claims of VIP paedophile rings and Establishment cover-ups, the inquiry has been mired in controversy.

The first two chairmen were forced to quit and an expert panel was scrapped amid infighting. There have been no public hearings, only a handful of meetings have been held with victims, and officials have only just got around to warning Whitehall not to destroy incriminating evidence.

But as Justice Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge drafted in to get a grip on the troubled investigation, prepares to officially launch its work with a public statement this week, The Mail on Sunday can reveal the staggering costs incurred in its first nine months – equivalent to almost £5,000 a day.

Among the costs is the £177,000 paid to a human-rights barrister who has effectively been running the inquiry behind the scenes.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said last night: ‘These are quite large figures for an inquiry launched a year ago which has not yet taken any formal evidence. The committee will monitor developments and progress and has every confidence in Judge Goddard’s ability to progress matters.

‘I hope that we can see an interim report in about a year’s time.’

Simon Danczuk, the Labour MP who has campaigned to expose paedophile politicians, added: ‘They need to get a move on with this – it’s not acceptable that the inquiry is being dragged out like this, we need to see progress.

‘Even the Iraq inquiry had held public hearings within its first few months. If anyone is going to have confidence in this inquiry, then it needs to get a move on now.’

The first details of the public inquiry’s spending, published in an obscure corner of its website, come months after MPs and journalists battled for information.

Between July 2014 and the end of March, the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse spent £1,261,316. It works out at £4,706 for each of the 268 days since it was announced. Of this, £725,525 went on staff, £145,723 on office accommodation, £203,838 on IT services, £164,730 on legal costs, £16,534 on travel and victims’ events, with the rest going on ‘running costs’ such as recruitment and training.

This newspaper can reveal that £177,480 of the staffing costs went to Ben Emmerson QC, the top lawyer who is counsel to the inquiry.

Justice Goddard arrived in the country to start work on April 13 so neither her salary nor accommodation are included in the published spending, but will be revealed soon.