Home Secretary Theresa May has now made her statement in the House of Commons on the new terms and Chair for the nation’s inquiry into child sexual abuse. May confirmed the following to the House this afternoon:

• The current panel will be disbanded and a new inquiry created which will now have Statutory Status. This will give the Inquiry more powers to compel witnesses and secure evidence for the Inquiry.
• The new Chair for the Inquiry will be New Zealand High Court Judge Justice Lowell Goddard. A concern was raised that Justice Goddard had been cited in a blog as being part of a cover up. The Home Secretary confirmed that this was brought to the attention of Survivors and they have taken a view on it. We are told that Survivors are satisfied this allegation is immaterial.
• Although all current panel members have been asked to step down, Professor Jay was specifically invited by the Home Secretary to reapply for a position on the new panel.
• Ben Emmerson QC will stay on as counsel to the Inquiry.
• Guidelines for the selection process for both Chair and panel members will be posted on the GOV.UK site shortly.

You can read Ben Emmerson QC’s statement, published today on the Inquiry’s website, here.

New Zealand High Court judge Lowell Goddard

Calling on her wild card, Home Secretary Theresa May has, after speaking with survivors and others, chosen to appoint Justice Lowell Goddard to lead the nation’s inquiry into child abuse.

Justice Goddard is a female High Court judge in new Zealand, and an expert on criminal law and procedure in New Zealand. She is believed to be the first Maori woman to serve as a High Court judge.  Justice Goddard has some experience in the field of child abuse. She was appointed chair of New Zealand’s Independent Police Conduct Authority and was in the post when the authority released a report on the outcome of its inquiry into police handling of child abuse cases. As a barrister, Justice Goddard also worked as a member of the steering committee which helped to establish the HELP Clinic, a facility for victims of sexual abuse.

Theresa May also confirmed that the current panel would be dissolved and a new Statutory Inquiry would be created. She has promised to publish the selection guidelines for both Chair and panel positions on the GOV.UK website shortly. May also invited Professor Jay to reapply to sit on the new panel and confirmed that Ben Emmerson QC would continue on as the Inquiry’s legal counsel.

Justice Lowell Goddard

According to media sources on the net, Theresa May is expected to announce the Chair for the nation’s child abuse inquiry, imminently.

A statement from a Home Office spokesperson (which they did not make available on any of their social media channels or official web pages), tells us that:

“The Home Secretary has been having a series of meetings with survivors of child abuse right up to this point. She is going to make an announcement today.”

So why didn’t they just say so on Monday, when public frenzy over dashed expectations was already at fever pitch? Let’s hope the announcement is made today so the Inquiry can make, another, fresh start.

May is expected to announce the new Chair and further details of the Inquiry at 12.30pm before MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions. You can catch the session live here. 

We’ll keep you updated as and when new developments come in.