Global InformationWestminster paedophile dossier information
A dossier on paedophiles allegedly associated with the British government was assembled by the British Member of Parliament Geoffrey Dickens, who handed it to the then-Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, in 1984. The whereabouts of the dossier is unknown, along with other files on organised child abuse that had been held by the Home Office.[1]
In 2013, the Home Office stated that all relevant information had been passed to the police, and that Dickens' dossier had not been retained. It was later disclosed that 114 documents concerning child abuse allegations were missing. In July 2014, the Labour Party called for a new inquiry into the way that the allegations had been handled, and the Prime Minister, David Cameron, ordered the permanent secretary of the Home Office, Mark Sedwill, to investigate the circumstances of the lost dossier.
On 7 July 2014, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced a review into the handling of historic child abuse allegations, to be led by Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, and the establishment of a public panel inquiry into the duty of care taken in the protection of children from paedophiles by British public institutions, led by an independent panel of experts and chaired by Baroness Butler-Sloss. Butler-Sloss later stood down as chair of the inquiry.[2] On 5 September 2014, it was announced that it would instead be chaired by Fiona Woolf[3] but on 31 October 2014 she, too, resigned from the role.[4] On 4 February 2015 it was announced that the inquiry would be chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard, a New Zealand High Court judge. The existing panel would be disbanded, and the inquiry would be given new powers, becoming the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.[5] On 4 August 2016, she also resigned from the role.[6]
- ^ Boffey, Daniel (6 July 2014). "Tebbit hints at political cover-up over child abuse in 1980s". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ "Butler-Sloss steps down from child abuse inquiry". BBC News. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf to lead child abuse inquiry". BBC News. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ "Fiona Woolf resigns as head of child abuse inquiry". BBC News. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard to lead abuse inquiry". BBC News. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Dame Lowell Goddard: Resignation letter in full". BBC News. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2018.