New blow to abuse inquiry if `lawyer of the year` quits his post
Britain`s troubled landmark inquiry into child sex abuse has been thrown into new doubt as its most senior lawyer is reportedly poised to quit.
Sep 28, 2016
By Nick Hudson
Britain`s troubled landmark inquiry into child sex abuse has been thrown into new doubt as its most senior lawyer is reportedly poised to quit.
Award-winning barrister Ben Emmerson QC is believed to be at odds on future policy direction with Professor Alexis Jay, its new chairman.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has suffered a series of devastating setbacks since it was set up in 2014 amid claims of an establishment cover-up, following allegations that a paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1980s.
Three high profile chairmen have come and gone in that time the first, Baroness Butler-Sloss, stood down in July 2014 amid questions over the role played by her late brother, Lord Havers, who was Attorney General in the 1980s.
Her replacement Dame Fiona Woolf resigned following a barrage of criticism over her “establishment links”, most notably in relation to former Home Secretary Leon Brittan, who died in 2015.
In August, New Zealand high court judge Dame Lowell Goddard became the third chairman to leave the post, saying that she was struggling to shake-off the inquiry`s “legacy of failure”.
Mr Emmerson`s position as counsel to the inquiry is thought to be less than secure because, according to The Times , he disagrees fundamentally with Professor Jay favouring a restructuring to reduce the inquirys workload rather than sticking with the original terms of reference, which is also preferred by the Home Secretary and No 10.
He has reportedly written to members of his legal team saying he will “actively consider” his position. Mr Emmerson, who three months ago took the accolade of The Lawyer magazines barrister of the year award, was appointed by former Home Secretary Theresa May after she announced the inquiry two years ago.
She hailed him as one of the UKs most distinguished lawyers in the field of human rights law.
Finding another senior lawyer for the inquiry might prove onerous, especially as it could last for a decade.
After her resignation two months ago, Dame Lowell told MPs that there was an inherent problem in the sheer scale and size of the inquiry and called for an overhaul to focus less on historical abuse and more on the present and future protection of children.
Professor Jay, a social work expert who led the highly-critical inquiry into sex abuse in Rotherham, is due to respond to her predecessors claims when she appears before the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee next month.
She has acknowledged the substantial challenge posed by the inquiry, adding: I have no intention of asking the Home Secretary to revise or reduce our terms of reference.
“I am confident that we can adapt our working methods to make our task more manageable and to progress with our work more quickly.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has also defended the scale of the inquiry, saying that the terms of reference that were set up originally were the right ones.
Richard Scorer, specialist abuse lawyer at Slater and Gordon, who represents more than 50 victims giving evidence at the inquiry, said: “It is incredibly important for survivors that the inquiry continues so the truth is uncovered and their voices are finally heard.”