Latest head of abuse inquiry Lowell Goddard to face MPs

The latest figure to head Britain's long-delayed inquiry into child sex abuse is to be grilled by MPs later today.

Lowell Goddard, a High Court judge from New Zealand, was named as chair by Home Secretary Theresa May last week.

She is the third individual proposed to take charge of the inquiry, after Baroness Butler-Sloss and Dame Fiona Woolf both stood aside amid concerns over their establishment links.

Justice Goddard is due to be questioned by the Home Affairs Select Committee in a pre-appointment hearing.

Last week she promised a fresh approach and "robust" inquiry into sexual abuse.

The new chair of a long-awaited inquiry into historic child sex abuse has promised a "robust" and "independent" investigation.

New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard was selected to lead the inquiry after two previous choices stood down over concerns about their links to establishment figures.

Survivor's groups have welcomed her appointment and the fact that the statutory inquiry will be able to compel witnesses to give evidence.

ITV News Correspondent Emily Morgan reports:

• Profile: Child Sex Abuse Inquiry chair Lowell Goddard

New Zealand high court judge Justice Lowell Goddard has said she can bring an "independent and fresh approach" to the child sex abuse inquiry.

Goddard, who has been named as the new chair of the inquiry, said: "It feels like a huge honour but also it's a very big commitment but it's one that I'm resolved to undertake and I'm looking forward to the work."

She said she had spoken to representatives of the survivor groups and pledged to keep them informed of the progress of the inquiry.

Justice Lowell Goddard, 66, has been selected to lead the Child Sex Abuse inquiry. Here is a profile of the judge:

• A serving judge with the High Court of New Zealand, the first woman of Maori descent to be appointed.
• Raised and studied in Auckland, New Zealand where she began practicing as a barrister in 1977
• Helped to establish the HELP Clinic and police support networks for victims of sexual abuse
• Oversaw publication of a report on police handling of child abuse cases as chairwoman of New Zealand's Independent Police Conduct Authority
• Elected an independent expert to the UN subcommittee on the prevention of torture
• She is married with three step-children and a daughter from a previous marriage

Former Child Protection manager Peter McKelvie has welcomed the appointment of New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard to lead the Child Sex Abuse Inquiry.

Speaking after a meeting at the Home Office, he said it was a "positive day for survivors" and that "the cement has been put down so whichever government comes in at the next election, the [inquiry] process will go on."

Cases such as the hundreds of children sexually abused in Rotherham are just "the tip of the iceberg", the Home Secretary has warned.

Speaking in the House of Commons as she announced the dissolution of the existing Child Sex Abuse Inquiry panel and the creation of a new one, Theresa May said such crimes showed why the inquiry was needed.

She ended by thanking survivors for their "patience, determination and willingness" to help the process.

A "small number" of files containing information on historical child sex abuse have been found in Cabinet Office archives, the Home Secretary has revealed.

Theresa May said she had ordered extra searches after a file came to light last month detailing "unnatural sexual behaviour".

She said after examination, it was established that it was not a copy of a file handed to Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam for a previous review commissioned in July last year, and said that it should have been.

A "small number" of other files which also should have been passed on were found in the extra search too, she added.

She has now asked that the files not only be shared with the review, but with the newly-established Goddard inquiry and any relevant police authorities.

Read: Westminster sex claim file found in archives

The current panel in the Child Sex Abuse Inquiry will be dissolved and replaced with a new statutory inquiry, the Home Secretary has announced.

She said the decision was "by no means a criticism" of the current panel, and said existing members would be able to reapply for the new panel if they so choose.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Theresa May said a statutory inquiry was needed to give the panel the power to compel witnesses to give evidence - and said that the time limit would be extended.

She added that the Official Secrets Act would not be bar to give evidence in the inquiry, and secret information would be made available where appropriate.

The chair of the new Child Sex Abuse Inquiry has been named as New Zealand high court judge Justice Lowell Goddard.

Home Secretary Theresa May said a number of academics, judges, and others from the legal sector had been nominated for the position, and said she had consulted with a group of survivors before making her decision.

Theresa May is expected to name a New Zealand high court judge as the latest chair of the troubled child abuse inquiry.

Watch the Home Secretary give details of the appointment in a statement to MPs live.

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