Child sex abuse survivors welcome proposals of more powerful new inquiry panel

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Dozens of survivors of alleged child sex abuse have welcomed the fresh proposals on Monday by the Home Secretary Theresa May which could lead to disband the current inquiry panel into the historical abuse and replace it with a more powerful body.

The move began after a letter signed by more than 60 anonymous victims and representatives calls for a statutory inquiry to be declared, a public announcement that the existing panel will be scrapped and replaced on a “transparent fit-for-purpose” basis and the appointment of an inquiry chair who has “demonstrable experience and ability in challenging the establishment”.

The letter says: “It is important that the inquiry is centred on bringing perpetrators before the courts, holding those that have failed in their professional duty or covered up allegations or been obstructive to account and delivering justice for survivors.”

Ms May wrote to the panel’s members about considering three options which will give the inquiry full statutory powers, including the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence under oath.

The three outline choices are:

– the appointment of a new chairman who would then request statutory powers

– the setting up of a new inquiry panel under statutory terms

– holding the inquiry as a Royal Commission without the powers of a statutory inquiry

All the three options are still being considered by Ms May and no decision has yet been made in this regard.

A Home office spokesperson has said: “The Home Secretary is absolutely committed to ensuring the Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has the confidence of survivors.

“She is also clear that we have to balance the need to make progress with the need to get this right.”

Members of the panel, who are presently without any chairperson following the resignations of previous chairs Fiona Woolf and Baroness Butler-Sloss due to their personal links with the establishment, are said to be “devastated” at the possibility of being split up.

In reply to Ms May’s proposed plans, panel member Sharon Evans of child safety group Dot Com Children’s Foundation has said: “I, like other members of the panel, feel devastated at the prospect of the independent inquiry being halted as it has been made clear to us ‘off the record’ that the panel will be stood down in the New Year.”

However, more than 60 victims and their representatives are now convinced that the recent steps would make the investigation start again from scratch.

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