UNITED KINGDOM
Independent
Ashley Cowburn Political Correspondent @ashcowburn
Dame Lowell Goddard has been asked to appear before MPs and explain why she resigned as chairwoman of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, a senior Labour MP has confirmed.
Keith Vaz, who is also the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee in Westminster, said it was not enough for the New Zealand high court judge to “resign and leave” and called for a thorough explanation. Mr Vaz added that the “only way” to move forward was to hear from Justice Goddard herself.
In a brief resignation statement, released on Thursday, Justice Goddard said the inquiry was beset with a “legacy of failure” and offered her resignation to the new Home Secretary Amber Rudd. She was appointed as chair of the unprecedented inquiry, set up in 2014, by then-Home Secretary Theresa May after two previous chairs walked away from the role.
Ms Rudd, however, has attempted to dismiss doubts about the future of the inquiry into child abuse and insisted the Government would “continue without delay”.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.