UNITED KINGDOM
Western Morning News
The Home Office has again been forced to defend the appointment of Westcountry peer Baroness Butler-Sloss to run the inquiry into allegations of an establishment cover-up of child abuse amid claims she refused to go public about a bishop implicated in a scandal.
Lady Butler-Sloss, who lives near Exeter,told a victim of alleged abuse she did not want to include the allegations in a review of how the Church of England dealt with two paedophile priests because she “cared about the Church” and “the press would love a bishop”, according to The Times.
The peer made the remarks in a meeting with Phil Johnson, who was abused by priests when he was a choirboy, during a private meeting in the House of Lords in 2011, the newspaper said.
It puts fresh pressure on the former High Court judge, who has faced calls to step down after reports that her brother Sir Michael Havers tried to prevent ex-MP Geoffrey Dickens airing claims about a diplomat in Parliament in the 1980s.
In a statement, Lady Butler-Sloss insisted that she has “never” put the reputation of an institution ahead of justice for victims.
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