UNITED KINGDOM
Belfast Telegraph
Child abuse inquiry: Theresa May under fire over appointment of Lady Butler-Sloss
BY NIGEL MORRIS AND ANDREW GRICE – 14 JULY 2014
Theresa May came under repeated fire over her failure to look in enough detail at the family background of Baroness Butler-Sloss, who today stepped down as chairman of a wide-ranging inquiry into child abuse claims.
The former High Court judge’s dramatic resignation, just six days after accepting the post, has severely embarrassed the Home Secretary.
In fiery exchanges with MPs, Mrs May insisted she stood by the appointment of a woman of “absolute integrity” to head the government-commissioned panel of inquiry.
However, the Home Secretary indicated she had been taken by surprise by allegations that the peer’s brother, the late Sir Michael Havers, attempted to thwart an attempt to expose paedophile activity.
Lady Butler-Sloss’s panel would have had to investigate whether Sir Michael, who was Attorney-General from 1979 to 1987, failed to act on allegations of child abuse involving senior establishment figures.
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