Lowell Goddard: Home Office failed to defend me over racism claim

By Eleanor Ainge Roy
Guardian
November 8, 2016

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/08/lowell-goddard-home-office-failed-to-defend-me-over-racism-claims

Dame Lowell Goddard, a former high court judge from New Zealand, resigned from the inquiry in August. Photo by Ben Pruchnie

Former chair of UK child abuse inquiry says she was ‘disappointed’ the government did not speak out against media attacks

The former chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has accused the British government of failing to defend her when she was accused in the press of racism.

Dame Lowell Goddard, a former high court judge from New Zealand, resigned from the inquiry on 4 August after less than 18 months.

In her resignation letter, Goddard cited the inquiry’s “legacy of failure” in her decision to step down. Goddard was the inquiry’s third chair to resign since it was established in July 2014.

However, in a letter to the chair of the home affairs select committee, Yvette Cooper, Goddard went further, saying she was “disappointed” the British government had not defended her against “malicious defamatory attacks in some UK media”.

But her refusal to appear before the committee prompted further criticism, with Cooper saying it was “disgraceful” and an “astonishing response” from a paid public servant.

A report in the Times alleged Goddard had a troubling record of making racist and derogatory remarks during her time as head of the inquiry, as well as acting abusively towards junior staff members.

“I am disappointed that there has been no government defence of me in England, despite the fact that information refuting some of the more serious allegations has been held by the Home Office and your committee since the time of my initial recruitment,” she wrote in the letter released by her husband on Tuesday.

The letter to Cooper also addressed her refusal to return to London or appear via videolink to answer questions about her departure.

Goddard refuted claims that she declined to provide oral evidence to the committee and said her focus on providing “formal, comprehensive reports” to the Home Office was a means of maintaining her “judicial independence”.

“As a high court judge in New Zealand for many years before I resigned to take up the chair of the IICSA, I have a duty to maintain judicial independence. That is why I have volunteered detailed written reports [in preference to oral communication] so that no dispute on powers or damage to IICSA’s independence could arise. I am not aware of any matter which remains unanswered,” she wrote.

Cooper said the committee would explore the options for requiring Goddard to give evidence should she step foot in Britain again.

“Dame Goddard has been paid significant amounts of public money to do an extremely important job which she suddenly resigned from, leaving a series of questions about what has been happening over the last 18 months and why the Inquiry got into difficulties,” said Cooper.

“Yet rather than give oral evidence to answer these questions she is relying on the fact that she is out of the UK to avoid the requirement to give evidence to parliament.

“This is an astonishing response from a paid public servant who should know how important transparency is in an inquiry as sensitive and crucial as this one. Child abuse survivors have been let down by the extremely rocky start to this inquiry and we do need answers as to why it went wrong in order to be confident it is back on track now.”

Goddard has said the letter, which was sent to Cooper on Monday, would be her final act relating to her former position as chair of the inquiry, and she would no longer be responding to requests for interviews or comments.