Child Sex Inquiry Is a Daunting Task, Admits Judge

By David Barrett
The Telegraph
July 9, 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/child-protection/11728303/Child-sex-inquiry-is-a-daunting-task-admits-judge.html

Justice Lowell Goddard

The sexual abuse of children has left "scars" on victims and society, the chair of the long-awaited independent inquiry into historical abuse has said.

Judge Lowell Goddard, formally opening the probe, said the inquiry "provides an opportunity to expose past failures of institutions to protect children".

She added: "The task ahead of us is daunting."

The inquiry was set up last year amid claims of an establishment cover-up following allegations that a paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1980s.

The scandal of BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile led to a new approach to child sex abuse cases

However, it has been beset by delays and controversies since it was first announced by Home Secretary Theresa May last July.

Justice Goddard, a New Zealand high court judge, was appointed to lead the inquiry following the resignation of two previous chairwomen.

The child abuse inquiry will run until late 2020 and will not hesitate to explore abuse in the "corridors of power in Westminster", Justice Lowell Goddard says.

It will challenge senior figures in all institutions across England and Wales, and will name names where necessary, she says.

The late Sir Cyril Smith MP has been exposed as a child abuser

The inquiry will use its powers to make allegations against "named individuals" where the evidence requires such a move, she said.

"We must travel from the corridors of power in Westminster to children's homes in the poorest parts of the country," said the judge.

"No-one, no matter how apparently powerful, will be allowed to obstruct our inquiry into institutional failings and no-one will have immunity to evade scrutiny.

"We will carry on putting these questions until we get the answers."

The inquiry may have to challenge "powerful private interests" such as internet service providers carrying child sex abuse images or insurance companies which have been accused of blocking claims by victims, she went on.

The opening session in central London is hearing an hour-long statement by Justice Goddard, with evidence sessions scheduled to start at a later date.

The first two people selected to be the inquiry's chair - Baroness Butler-Sloss, a former senior judge, and Dame Fiona Woolf, a prominent City lawyer – had to step down following accusations that they were too close to the establishment to be independent.