Pressure grows on leader of sex abuse inquiry Professor Alexis Jay after lawyers voice concerns

Evening Standard
November 22, 2016

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Backing: Professor Alexis Jay has the support of the Government PA

Senior lawyers who quit the beleaguered public inquiry into historical child abuse have raised concerns about its leadership in letters to a Commons committee.

At least one of the four barristers has directly criticised Professor Alexis Jay’s handling of the suspension of Ben Emmerson QC, the former lead counsel, sources have disclosed.

Correspondence from Hugh Davies QC, ex-deputy counsel to the inquiry, said Professor Jay should have provided more information on why Mr Emmerson was suspended in September.

He resigned the next day, and as yet no reason has been given for his suspension.

However, Labour MP Lisa Nandy used Parliamentary privilege yesterday to say there has been a claim of sexual assault. Mr Emmerson denies the allegations, saying they are “categorically untrue”.

The letters are the latest set-back for the £100 million inquiry which has seen a raft of senior lawyers resign and Britain’s largest abuse victims organisation, the London-based Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA), pull out. 

Today MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee will meet in private to discuss the barristers’ letters, and whether any action needs to be taken.

The fresh turmoil comes as barrister Michael Mansfield QC said there had been a “dismal failure” to work with survivors groups when picking candidates to lead the inquiry.

“We’ve got to a stage now where, down the line, it’s crumbled. There’s no other word for it, it’s crumbled,” he told the BBC’s Newsnight.

“What has gone seriously wrong here is a dismal failure to consult with the survivors’ groups from the beginning, about appointments and about the substantive materials that have to be assembled.

“Secondly, the actual appointments of the chair have been inappropriate, one after another.

“Just how many mistakes can you make? And of course some of the groups are saying: ‘Have these mistakes been made on purpose?’”

The Government is backing Professor Jay and Sarah Champion, shadow minister for women and equalities, praised her work on exposing the abuse of 1,400 children in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Concerns from MPs and survivors groups over her background as a social worker are misplaced, the Rotherham MP argued, suggesting Professor Jay’s former profession made her expertly qualified to deal with an inquiry dealing with child protection. 

She said: “Alexis Jay is the right person for the job because I’ve seen how she managed to uncover decades of poor protection and cover-ups in Rotherham.