Theresa May Accused Of Bungling Over Inquiry

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 01 November 2014 | 14.44

In an interview explaining why she has become the second child abuse inquiry head to quit before starting work, Fiona Woolf blamed "negative comment and innuendo".

Yet in her resignation letter to Theresa May, the lawyer and Lord Mayor of London said she was standing aside because she wouldn't have "widespread victim support".

Both are true. And it's probably also true she never wanted the job in the first place. She obviously wouldn't have been appointed if Baroness Butler-Sloss - the Home Secretary's first choice - hadn't quit.

Baroness Butler-Sloss withdrew because her late brother, Michael Havers, was Attorney General at the time of the original abuse allegations in the 80s.

Now Mrs Woolf has gone because she's pally with Leon Brittan, the home secretary at the time, and his wife Diana.

The seven drafts of correspondence published by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee of MPs, revealed five dinner parties, three at her house and two at the Brittans' (who live in the same street), coffee mornings, sitting on a panel with Lady Brittan and sponsoring her for a fun run.

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  1. Gallery: The Redrafted Letter At Centre Of Woolf Row

    A letter from Fiona Woolf to the Home Secretary referring to her links to Leon Brittan went through several drafts.

  2. Chair of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz criticised Mrs Woolf, saying the final version showed a more "detached" relationship with the Brittans than the first one. For example, it stressed there were a number of other people present at dinner parties.

  3. Mr Vaz had said Mrs Woolf's appointment had been "chaotic" and she should decide whether she wishes to remain as chair of the inquiry. It was confirmed on Friday afternoon that she would be stepping down

Very cosy. No wonder Mr Vaz - who can congratulate himself on another high-profile scalp - said the appointments process was "chaotic" and the Labour MP and anti-child abuse campaigner Simon Danczuk has accused the Home Office of "colluding in a cover-up".

All of which means the Home Secretary will have some tough questions to answer when she makes her statement to MPs on this fiasco on Monday.

Mr Vaz, for a start, says Mrs Woolf's friendship with the Brittans should have been checked out before, not after, she was appointed.

Mrs May says she plans to meet survivors' groups. They would say - and did say after their meeting with relatively junior civil servants at Westminster - that she should have done that much earlier.

Video: Survivors To 'Fight Tooth And Nail'

Labour's Yvette Cooper made the same criticism of the Home Secretary.

Mrs May also says she is going to consult with "relevant parliamentarians". I assume she means Yvette Cooper and MPs like Mr Danczuk, as well as the all-powerful Mr Vaz.

But her critics will say it's all a bit late now. The Home Secretary stands accused of bungle after bungle in this whole messy affair.

And while the politicians bicker and argue, the inquiry still hasn't started and the continuing delay is adding to the distress of the victims.

Video: Victims 'Relieved' As Woolf Quits

If it takes as long to find the next inquiry head as it took to find Mrs Woolf - six weeks - that will take us almost to the end of the year and probably means the inquiry won't start until 2015.

As for Mr Vaz, he obviously can't call the late Geoffrey Dickens, who's said to have handed Leon Brittan a dossier of allegations in 1983, or the deceased Michael Havers.

But why haven't he and his Home Affairs Select Committee called Lord Brittan to give evidence?

Surely he could clear up the "negative comment and innuendo" referred to by Fiona Woolf.


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