Theresa May has finally officially replied to a request from now 139 MPs for a Hillsborough style overarching inquiry into historic child sex abuse.
In a more emollient letter to the original seven MPs who called for the inquiry she is indicating that she will give serious consideration to an inquiry – but not until all the current police investigations are completed.
The full story and texts of the letters between Theresa May and Zac Goldsmith are on the Exaro website today.
Zac Goldsmith has responded by writing a letter to the home secretary.
“The next step is for us to meet you, along with other interested members of Parliament, to discuss the issue more fully.
“It would make sense for this meeting to happen sooner rather than later, and we would therefore appreciate it if you could let us have a date as soon as possible.”
It is also revealed that Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, has gone further than David Cameron and rejected any inquiry into historic child sex abuse saying such a move is ” a waste of money”.
The letter from Theresa May is encouraging in that she feels she has to fully respond to a demand from 138 MPs of all parties and is obviously anxious to say that she will thoroughly examine the case after police investigations are completed. But Zac Goldsmith is right to press her much further. His call for an urgent meeting so she can hear the full facts from possibly as many as 138 MPs is exactly right.
As for Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, he obviously believes that finding justice for child sex abuse victims is less important than cutting taxes. Frankly this is unsurprising from him – the man who slashed compensation payments for innocent victims of criminals, doesn’t believe prisoners should have any right to read books,and would quite happily see people stripped of legal representation in the courts if they can’t afford it. He belongs to the wing of what Theresa May once called ” the nasty party.”.
Westminster Confidential 
It is also revealed that Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, has gone further than David Cameron and rejected any inquiry into historic child sex abuse saying such a move is ” a waste of money”. yes rtu ids lacky he took away the the right to appeal help from his justice policys now he wants to take away justice for those who were abused just right for this lot isn’t it jeff3
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At present I am confused about who is calling for what and why.. I can understand that there is a need for the Government to examine all the information about what has gone on in covering up and protectionism in relation to politicians, civil servants and people like Savile. Given the involvement of security services this is best done by a judge and in secret with an outcome published which is in the national as well as public interest. Given what is already known and may well emerge we do not want to de-stable the state at his time with the Independence vote, the general election and a vote on Europe all where the outcome is unknown and cannot be politically managed.
The first priority of the government is to ensure that there is no one in Government, Parliament including shadow government in both House, or senior public servants, in Local Authority Councils and their chief officers who has been directly responsible for crimes of physical and sexual violence or in its covering or protectionism
I can also understand the need to ensure that high profile people who also harmed children and vulnerable adults physically or sexually should be investigated if complaints are made against them by those who have been harmed.
You do not need an inquiry in whatever form to do this and in fact such an inquiry could be counter productive .
It is also not what the survivors with whom I have contact are saying they want
They want officialdom to take every possible appropriate measures to prevent crimes of physical and sexual violence against children and vulnerable adults.
They want the perpetrators to be prosecuted
They want to find a meaningful sense of justice for themselves and for others and they want help and support especially for the most vulnerable many of who have taken their own lives already but how many is known and that would be a useful thing for an independent commission to do with appropriate resources if the government for some reason has not done it before. The same applies to collating information about the total number of children and young people that have harmed for the era of children’s departments 1948-1971 and then for local authority social services departments 1971 to 2006 Most survivors I talk with do not know that responsibility for child care and protection was passed to Education in 2006 and that Social Services now deals only with adults and that there two separate inspection services .
It is also important to ensure that every piece of relevant documentation is collated and kept secure for the police, for government and for the kind of kind of commission that I believe the victims want to see. Local authorities, legal firms as well as government departments are wilfully destroying records at the earliest opportunity available to them and this has to stop if records relate to the matters of now common concern
I was horrified by what happened at the recent Home Affairs Committee when the issue of cost was raised. Yes hundreds of millions have been spent recently on historical investigations and the only one that has impressed until the Savile reports is of Hillsborough. But Hillsborough concerned events on one day albeit with a history of investigations.
Look at what happened in North Wales where there was a decade of inquiries , there is a new police investigation and the Macur inquiry into why Waterhouse restricted itself to children and young people in establishments and not those taken from homes elsewhere as was the situation at Islington and I suspect elsewhere. In My own experience I wa involved in bringing to light matters that occurred both during and before my short time in post. Because of reasons that are still not clear five years went by before a better look was taken by the authority in question and the police and five more years before there was a settlement of a kind and a hundred answered questions.
I would not dare speak for other victims but I believe that the setting up of a Hillsborough type commission independent of government would be of help victims if it is given the time and appropriate administrative and research support to do a number of things.
1 Review documentation when it becomes available
2 Commence to find out how the whole situation came about and where I believe there are a number of causes and issues which are different in terms of local authority provided care and that provide by other bodies.
3 commence a series of regional meetings with survivors, their families and those who support them about what they want in terms of priorities
4 set up a mechanism in which survivors who have not had any other opportunity to date to have people listen to what happened to them can do so. Some I suspect most will want to it in private and so me with counselling and guidance to do in a more public way. Police have their own focus while local authorities and lawyers have theirs and are time cost controlled and quite right to
Given the number of victims and the insignificant number of convictions I know of over 100 children and young people who name well over 100 alleged perpetrators where only two individuals have been convicted, the clear failure of Authorities to listen to what they had to say at the time and since and what this means in terms of the lives they are able to lead , their families and those they have made or are making for themselves their is a cry of pain and anguish out there that needs urgently to be addressed and to hell with the cost.
PS I know they would not object that someone like the Bishop who chaired Hillsborough became involved but the rest of the actual commission should be female and the majority of those mothers and includes one if not two victims ( if two one could be a man)
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Thanks very much for such a well argued contribution. The reasons you raise are why I am keen on Hillsborough style inquiry into all this.
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Is the Governments response over this issue really a surprise?. Seems obvious to me that they are nervous in case something comes out before the next election. Someone is being protected, ranks are closing, but scandal will out in time. There’s no other plausible explanation for the delay.
Keep up the good work folks. 🙂
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thanks Dave we fully intend to keep going.
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Reblogged this on Vox Political and commented:
The shift in Theresa May’s position is encouraging, although I am concerned that she may be merely trying to stop the number of MPs calling for an inquiry from increasing further. For this reason, I hope that efforts to recruit more MPs continue. Chris Grayling is as David Hencke describes him here, only slightly worse. As he is a disciple of Iain Duncan Smith, it is a waste of time trying to have a reasonable conversation with him.
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Cameron and Grayling know that this will be the next big parliamentary scandal to break and Leon Brittan will more than likely be shown to have suppressed evidence . Of course the criminals think that it’s ” a waste of money ” .
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I would hope for a Hillsborough type inquiry for the victims of these awful crimes. I believe that someone in the HoC is involved and that people are covering up for him/her.
The historical abuse is shocking, especially when people had already complained and compiled evidence, which amazingly disappeared!
How much more evidence is being destroyed around the UK? How long are we going to be told that “nothing is amiss” and that “it’s a waste of money”? Grayling ought to watch what he says as people could take it a different way…
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Reblogged this on Jay's Journal and commented:
More on the historical abuse in government – past and present?
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Reblogged this on Britain Isn't Eating.
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Reblogged this on Britain Isn't Eating.
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Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog and commented:
The movement among MPs to have a proper investigation into child sex offences grows apace, with Theresa May under increasing pressure to allow this to occur. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, on the other hand, is determined to block such enquiries as a waste of money. This is the kind of attitude we’ve come to expect from the man is exactly the type of individual who should never have been appointed to the post. For him, the title of ‘Justice Secretary’ is definitely a misnomer.
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Over arching enquiry? my SS friend described that (5/7/14) as ‘kicking it into the long grass’. The Dossier names people who are huge and bigger than the Minister. EGH figures big time.
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Beginning to think that some Parliamentarian’s are dragoons with no teeth. I do hope that I am not an ill advised person on the subject & that the public are shown the real time circus of public civil duty officers !
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Grayling does not have a law degree – the first non-lawyer to serve as Lord chancellor since 1558, apparently.
http://www.bushywood.com/members_parliament/chris_grayling_lord_chancellor_secretary_of_state_for_justice.htm
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