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May heads for clash with MPs on claims of Goddard cover-up

By Andrew Norfolk
Times
October 18, 2016

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/may-heads-for-clash-with-mps-on-claims-of-goddard-cover-up-t772j3kpq

Concerns over Dame Lowell Goddard’s competency were shared over many months with the Home Office

Theresa May will be challenged tomorrow to reveal whether she was involved in a cover-up to hide alleged failings by the head of the national child abuse inquiry.

The prime minister is under mounting pressure to say when and what she was told of serious concerns about the conduct and competence of Dame Lowell Goddard, who quit abruptly in August. Amber Rudd, her successor as home secretary, was dragged to the Commons to account for her claim last month that her “only information” about the New Zealand judge’s resignation was that she was lonely and far from home. The Times revealed last week that concerns within the inquiry that Dame Lowell was unfit to continue in her £500,000 role were shared over many months with senior Home Office officials and advisers.

The judge was said to have been aggressive and abusive to staff, to have used racist language and to have struggled to grasp basic rules of English law. She has issued a detailed statement strenuously denying all allegations of misconduct and has described them as malicious.

Ms Rudd admitted yesterday that she was aware of warnings about Dame Lowell’s alleged lack of professionalism before the judge stepped down. She was accused in the Commons of having been “economical about what she knew” when she gave evidence to a parliamentary committee last month.




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