Britain’s troubled sex abuse inquiry claims Kiwi scalp
Dame Lowell Goddard, who has resigned as head of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
The New Zealand judge appointed to head a problem–plagued public inquiry into institutional child abuse in the UK has resigned.
Dame Lowell Goddard is the third person to quit as the head of the inquiry set up two years ago.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Justice Goddard gave no reason for standing down, and she has pledged that the work into claims of an establishment cover–up will continue “without delay”.
The resignation comes 24 hours after British media reports criticising her for spending three months away from the UK since she was first appointed last year.
When that appointment was made it was welcomed by a powerful lobby of victims’ groups, which lauded the move to appoint an outsider with no links to the powerful British establishment. Those groups have expressed disappointment over the resignation, saying it is a blow to attempts to finally get to the truth of what happened.
The inquiry’s scope covers 13 public investigations into historical child abuse cases, including in the Catholic and Anglican churches, Westminster, Lambeth Council and the Medolmsley Detention Centre.
