UNITED KINGDOM
The Mail on Sunday
Yet another blow for child abuse inquiry after it’s revealed that the Home Office coached ‘independent’ experts about how to answer ‘difficult questions’
By Martin Beckford and Simon Murphy for The Mail on Sunday
The troubled inquiry into historic child abuse is facing fresh criticism after it emerged that panel members were told what to say to MPs by a long-serving Home Office official.
Experts and abuse survivors were given a 23-page document advising them how to answer ‘difficult questions’ when they appeared before a high-profile committee, prompting fears that the huge Government-ordered investigation is not independent.
It can also be revealed that the woman in charge of administration for the inquiry was seconded from the Home Office, where she has worked for 36 years – even though the department is at the centre of many of the allegations of cover-ups and VIP paedophile rings.
Last night critics said it was yet another blow to the reputation of the inquiry, which has barely begun work more than six months after it was announced.
Baroness Butler-Sloss and Fiona Woolf both had to quit as chairman over conflicts of interest, with the replacement due to be announced this week.
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