Child abuse inquiry should be handled by independent institute, says MP

UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian

Rajeev Syal
Thursday 1 January 2015

The government is struggling to deal with the volume of historical child abuse allegations and should set up an independent institute to investigate the issue, a Labour MP has said.

John Mann, who was among campaigners for an inquiry into claims of abuse, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on New Year’s Day that there had been too much of a focus on who should lead the investigation, at the expense of victims.

The inquiry, sparked by claims of paedophiles operating in Westminster in the 1980s, is set to investigate whether “public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales”.

The panel has started work but has no one to lead it after its first two nominations resigned. The home secretary, Theresa May, who is still considering the format of the inquiry, has told the current panel it might be disbanded.

Abuse survivors have called for the government to scrap the current inquiry and replace it with a more powerful body.

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