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Child abuse inquiry in crisis after chair quits

  • Britain's child abuse inquiry has been thrown into fresh turmoil
  • Dame Lowell Goddard became its third chairman to quit
  • She has been asked to appear before MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee
  • Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the inquiry would continue "without delay"
  • Victims' groups have called for a replacement to be found "urgently"
  • One abuse survivor told ITV News that he felt "let down" by another resignation
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Vaz demands 'full explanation' over Goddard resignation

Keith Vaz said 'serious questions' need to be answered. Credit: PA

The Government must provide a "full explanation" for Dame Lowell Goddard's decision to quit as head of the child sexual abuse inquiry, Labour's Keith Vaz has said.

Mr Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs committee, said the decision was "astonishing" and that "serious questions" should be asked about "why the Home Office has not monitored events more carefully".

"We will expect a full explanation from both the Prime Minister and the new Home Secretary about these matters," he said. "We need to examine again the remit, cost, purpose and ambition of what the inquiry was tasked with."

Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour Party, said a new chair must be found as "a matter of great urgency", adding: "I hope the new Home Secretary will not attempt to take control of the investigation. The independence of this inquiry must not be compromised by ministers or officials."

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