UNITED KINGDOM
Express
The 67-year-old New Zealand high court judge was appointed to lead the inquiry following the resignation of two previous chairwomen.
But she faced heavy criticism today when it emerged she had spent three months of this year wither on leave or working abroad.
Mrs Rudd said: “I can confirm that Dame Lowell Goddard wrote to me today to offer her resignation as chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and I have accepted.
“I want to assure everyone with an interest in the inquiry, particularly victims and survivors, that the work of the inquiry will continue without delay and a new chair will be appointed.
“I would like to thank Dame Lowell Goddard for the contribution she has made in setting up the inquiry so that it may continue to go about its vital work.”
The inquiry was set up in 2014 by the then Home Secretary Theresa May amid claims of an establishment cover-up following allegations that a paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1980s.
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