UNITED KINGDOM
RTE News
A British inquiry into child abuse is to look at allegations involving current or former MPs, the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches and members of intelligence agencies.
The British royal family may also be drawn into the probe as it considers whether “inappropriate attempts” were made by prominent figures to interfere in a case relating to a bishop.
Last month, a royal spokesperson was forced to deny that Prince Charles made an intervention in the judicial process on behalf of Peter Ball, who was jailed for sexually abusing aspiring priests – 22 years after the claims first came to light.
There have been accusations of an establishment cover-up with Ball, the former Anglican bishop of Lewes and Gloucester, counting a member of the royal family among those who wrote letters of support before he was let off with a caution in 1993.
Chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard confirmed the case will be considered by the inquiry, adding that it will “investigate whether there were inappropriate attempts by people of prominence to interfere in the criminal justice process after he was first accused of child sexual offences the case would be considered”.
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