Theresa May Knew of Child Abuse Inquiry Tensions Weeks before Chair Quit

By Peter Walker
The Guardian
October 19, 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/19/theresa-may-denies-failure-to-act-on-child-abuse-inquiry-concerns-lowell-goddard

Theresa May was aware of “tensions” between Dame Lowell Goddard and panel members in the national child abuse inquiry “some weeks” before the Home Office took action, her spokeswoman has admitted.

The prime minister has been under mounting pressure to reveal what she knew, and when, about the troubles in the inquiry. Goddard resigned in August, initially citing homesickness, but a series of allegations have since emerged about her leadership style.

The prime minister’s spokeswoman said on Wednesday that May had heard suggestions that “there were tensions between the chair and some panel members”, some weeks before the issue was raised with the permanent secretary of the Home Office, Mark Sedwill, in late July.

But she refused to say whether the prime minister had taken any action as a result, or sought to ascertain whether the rumours were true, repeatedly insisting that “it is only right to act on formal complaints or convincing evidence”.

May had earlier rejected claims from the Labour MP Lisa Nandy that the Home Office failed to act soon enough, saying during prime minister’s questions that it could not be expected to respond to “suspicion, rumour or hearsay”.

In a later statement, Nandy said the comments from May’s spokeswoman meant the prime minister should explain “why she took no action other than to allow a generous ?80,000 payoff to the judge at the centre of these serious allegations”.

Nandy said: “This feels like a cover-up, making it imperative that the prime minister and home secretary are now completely open about precisely what they knew so that survivors can regain confidence in this crucial inquiry.”

It had emerged on Tuesday that a member of the panel raised concerns about Goddard with senior Home Office officials as early as April this year, when May was home secretary.

A hearing of the home affairs select committee also heard that relations between leading panel members and Goddard were so bad a professional facilitator had been brought in.

One of May’s officials told the committee that the Home Office first heard of the concerns about Goddard only six days before she stepped down, but it is now clear that May had heard informal suggestions of deteriorating relations earlier than that.

Nandy had asked the prime minister in the Commons why no action was taken before Goddard stepped down.

Nandy said of May: “She set up the inquiry. She appointed the chair. She was the individual responsible for the inquiry’s success. She was the home secretary in April and she was the only person who had the power to act.

“Can she now finally tell us when she, personally, learned of the serious problems developing in this inquiry, and why it was that she took no action at all?”

May responded by stressing that it was vital for survivors’ groups and others to have faith in the inquiry, which now has its fourth chair in just over two years.

“There were stories around about the inquiry and about individuals related to the inquiry,” May said. “But the home secretary cannot intervene on the basis of suspicion, rumour or hearsay.”

May said the home affairs committee was also told that the concerns raised in April were confidential and they were treated as such. She added: “I think it is important for us to recognise, when the Home Office was officially informed of issues, the Home Office acted. It’s now for the inquiry to get on and deliver for victims and survivors.”

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn used his questions to May to quiz her on funding for the NHS, notably for mental health services and social care, with the Labour leader complaining of “reckless and counterproductive” cuts to the latter.

The NHS was “on its knees”, Corbyn said, and May had failed on her intention to give mental health care parity of esteem.

He said: “All this government has produced is parity of failure. Failing mental health patients, failing elderly people who need social care, failing the 4 million on the NHS waiting list, failing five times as many people waiting more than four hours at A&E departments, and another winter crisis is looming.”