Child sex abuse inquiry: victims anxious after counsels' resignations

By Owen Bowcott, Sandra Laville And Peter Walker
Guardian
September 30, 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/30/child-sex-abuse-inquiry-victims-anxious-after-counsels-resignations

It is understood Ben Emmerson and his deputy, Elizabeth Prochaska, cannot talk publicly about their resignations. Photo by Anthony Devlin

Confidence in the troubled national inquiry into child abuse is in danger of draining away following the latest resignations, lawyers for the victims have said.

A weekly meeting between survivors’ representatives and the leadership of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) lasted all day on Friday as they sought reassurance that its original, ambitious aims would be preserved.

Confirmation of the departure of Ben Emmerson QC, lead counsel to the inquiry, as well as his deputy, Elizabeth Prochaska, both barristers at Matrix Chambers, have left many of those engaged with the inquiry demoralised and anxious.

Three chairs – Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, Dame Fiona Woolf and Dame Lowell Goddard – have resigned since the inquiry was launched in July 2014 by the then home secretary, Theresa May. Its current chair is Prof Alexis Jay, a former social worker.

Another lawyer has also stepped down. Abigail Bright, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, left because of delays in the module dealing with allegations surrounding the former Labour MP Greville Janner.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is looking at the police handling of initial investigations. The IICSA said it believed Bright was still available to work; however, her chambers said she had quit the inquiry “permanently” earlier in the summer.

There have been calls for the separate strands of the inquiry – such as those into the Catholic church or Lambeth council, for example – to be given greater powers so that they can move ahead in parallel rather than being more slowly run in succession.

“What is crucial is whether the victims and survivors’ consultative panel (VSCP) still feel they have confidence in the inquiry,” said Alison Millar, head of the abuse team at the London law firm Leigh Day.

“It’s been such an omnishambles from start to finish. It’s such a worry for people who have given evidence to the inquiry. They have heard reports about chaos in the document storage system [which contains] 100,000 children’s social work files.

“What you can’t do is go back on the terms of reference. At the moment we would be telling [clients] to have a cautious look at what’s happening with the inquiry … I might be saying, hold fire for the moment.

“We really want this inquiry to succeed but people are now very worried that it won’t and that engagement will at best make no difference and at worst will result in retraumatisation for nothing,” she said.

Peter Garsden, head of abuse claims at the Cheshire solicitors Simpson Millar, called for the inquiry to be redesigned so that the individual investigations into separate areas of abuse could move ahead faster within an overarching inquiry.

“They need a lead counsel for each module of the inquiry,” Garsden said. “It’s too much for one person to do altogether. If they ran them in parallel at different venues, I’m sure they would get through them much quicker. I also understand that their case management system is not fit for purpose. It needs a root and branch reappraisal.”

Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), attended the day-long meeting at the IICSA on Friday as a member of the VSCP.

He said members of the victims’ panel were reassured and felt positive about the future work of the inquiry: “We felt a sense of renewal. There is no exodus of staff and everyone is very determined to get on with it. We were reassured and we understand that the review being carried out [by Jay] will come back imminently.

“Throughout our time on the victims and survivors’ panel, we have given our input and I would hope what we say is being considered as part of the review.”

Saunders said the meeting took place with the inquiry secretariat but Jay was not present.

Gabrielle Shaw, the NAPAC chief executive, said: “We still support the inquiry. It was an acknowledgement of the scale of child abuse in institutional settings.

“But there’s a lot of anger over Ben Emmerson being suspended and resigning. A lot of people have invested personally in the inquiry. It’s the most ambitious inquiry the UK has ever undertaken.

“People have been waiting for decades for this. They want it to be perfect and they want to be consulted. It would be a tragedy if it was stopped.”

Yvette Cooper, the former shadow home secretary and a candidate to become chair of the home affairs select committee, said the inquiry needed “a strategic rethink”.

“It’s a big problem that we’re two years on from starting the inquiry, and we have four chairs, a new legal team and on most of the individual inquiries within the framework they haven’t taken any evidence,” she said.

While the overall terms of reference were correct, Cooper argued, the structure of the sub-inquiries was too mixed, and so far there had not been enough transparency or obvious progress.

“It’s a shambles at the moment, a real mess. That’s not fair on huge numbers of people who really have put their faith and hopes into this as a way to get justice.”

Caroline Flint, another Labour MP bidding to chair the home affairs committee, said the government should consider allowing Jay to appoint other chairs to cover specific elements of the inquiry.

“That might allow some opportunities for more coherence, and also to enable those chairs to see the wood for the trees,” Flint said. “But importantly, even if it is broken down into more manageable areas, at the end of all this they need to bring together the common themes, and where different agencies have failed together.”

Flint, who stressed she was seeking no party advantage given that the abuse also took place under Labour governments, said the appointment of Jau and the departure of Emmerson could be a good time to change the structure of the inquiry.

“Everyone wants to do the right thing here, by victims and by getting our systems of protection into a better place. There’s nothing to be ashamed in saying, actually, we need to do this better.”

Flint stressed the importance of the inquiry reporting on what it had learned as it progressed: “We have children at risk today, and it’s really important that we use what we already know from various inquiries as to how we can protect children better now and in the future.”

It is understood that Emmerson and Prochaska are not able to talk publicly about their departure. In the face of speculation over the cause of their resignations, the inquiry declined to elaborate. Asked whether its legal teams sign confidentiality agreements, a spokesperson replied: “Lawyers have professional duties of confidentiality.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Ben Emmerson’s resignation is a matter for the independent inquiry, which is continuing its vital work in exposing the failure of public bodies and other organisations to prevent systematic child sexual abuse.

“Our commitment to this inquiry is undiminished. We owe it to victims and survivors to confront the appalling reality of how children were let down by the very people who were charged to protect them and to learn from the mistakes of the past.”