UNITED KINGDOM
Independent
Westminster child abuse inquiry: Judge in charge of investigation bows to conflict of interest claims and quits role
Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss has stood down as chairman of the government-ordered inquiry into allegations of child abuse involving senior public figures in the 1980s.
Her surprise decision came after she was put under growing pressure to step aside because her brother, the late Sir Michael Havers, served as Attorney General from 1979 to 1987.
Her panel would have had to investigate whether Sir Michael failed to act on allegations of child abuse involving senior establishment figures. He reportedly tried to prevent the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens from using parliamentary privilege to name diplomat Sir Peter Hayman as a paedophile.
Baroness Butler-Sloss said it had become apparent that there was “a widespread perception, particularly among victim and survivor groups, that I am not the right person to chair the inquiry”.
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