Child Sex Abuse Victims Are Asked to Resubmit Information to Inquiry after Everything in "Share Your Experience" Section Is Deleted from Website

By Richard Spillett
Daily Mail
October 16, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3275499/Child-abuse-testimony-lost-inquiry-blunder.html

Information provided by victims to the independent child abuse inquiry has been deleted, it emerged today.

The inquiry admitted that, due to a change in its website address, any submissions through an online form between September 14 and October 2 was 'instantly and permanently deleted' before it reached staff.

The information erased in the blunder had been given to the 'share your experience' section of the website.

Justice Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge who is to head the new child abuse inquiry: It emerged today that a website where victims can tell of the abuse they suffered has permanently deleted information

The website was set up for victims and survivors wanting to share their experiences with officials working on the probe.

Those who provided details between the two dates have now been asked to resubmit their information.

The inquiry apologised for the incident and stressed that no material was at risk of disclosure.

A statement on its website said: 'Any information submitted to the Inquiry between 14 September and 2 October through the online form on the Share your Experience page of our website, was instantly and permanently deleted before it reached our engagement team.

'We are very sorry for any inconvenience or distress this will cause and would like to reassure you that no information was put at risk of disclosure or unauthorised access.'

A statement on the inquiry's website admitted the blunder and asked victims to resubmit their evidence

The inquiry - set up last July following claims of a high-level cover-up of abuse - was beset by delays until Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand judge, finally opened the probe earlier this year.

The landmark inquiry - set to be Britain's largest ever public inquiry and which is expected to take five years - is braced to hear testimony from at least 30,000 victims.

The number is said to represent less than one per cent of the more than three million adults in Britain who were abused as children.

Justice Goddard was appointed to lead the Government's independent inquiry following the resignation of two previous chairwomen.

Baroness Butler-Sloss stood down as chair in July last year amid questions over the role played by her late brother, Lord Havers, who was attorney general in the 1980s.

The inquiry was already delayed by the resignations of two former chairwomen, Baroness Butler-Sloss (left) and Dame Fiona Woolf (right)

Her replacement Dame Fiona Woolf then resigned following a barrage of criticism over her 'establishment links', most notably in relation to former home secretary Leon Brittan, who died earlier this year.

Home Secretary Theresa May officially reconstituted the probe under Justice Goddard in March and placed it on a statutory footing, meaning it has the power to compel witnesses to give evidence.

INFORMATION DELETED: THE FULL STATEMENT ON THE IICSA WEBSITE

'Due to a change in our website address to www.iicsa.org.uk on 14 September, any information submitted to the Inquiry between 14 September and 2 October through the online form on the Share your experience page of our website, was instantly and permanently deleted before it reached our engagement team.

'We are very sorry for any inconvenience or distress this will cause and would like to reassure you that no information was put at risk of disclosure or unauthorised access.

'Due to the security measures on our website, your information cannot be found or viewed by anyone else as it was immediately and permanently destroyed.

'We would like to apologise again to anyone who submitted details to the Inquiry during this time and to ask you to please resubmit your information through the online form.

'Alternatively you can call the Inquiry helpline on 0800 917 1000 to submit your information over the phone, or email our team at contact@iicsa.org.uk.'