UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Sandra Laville
Friday 16 December 2016
Public inquiry style hearings into key institutions in the national child abuse investigation are being reduced to speed up the process and refocus on preventing abuse now and in the future.
In an internal review published on Friday, the inquiry chair, Prof Alexis Jay, says she is committed to pursuing all 13 investigations into non-recent abuse within institutions. But in some cases, the review reveals, there will only be one public hearing into a key area or institution, although the single hearings are likely to last days or weeks.
The apparent move away from a public inquiry in the mould of the Leveson and Bloody Sunday inquiries may anger some participants and their lawyers, who pressed the then home secretary, Theresa May, for a statutory public inquiry in which witnesses would be forced to answer questions under oath.
In 2017 four public inquiry-style hearings will be held: two on child migrants, one on abuse within the English Benedictine congregation of the Roman Catholic church, and one on Knowl View school in Rochdale, which was linked to abuse by the late MP Cyril Smith.
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