Baroness Butler-Sloss faced demands for her resignation less than 24 hours after she was appointed to lead the Government’s probe into abuse by politicians and other powerful figures.
MPs and legal experts said it was inappropriate for her to keep the post given that her late brother, Sir Michael Havers, was Attorney General under Margaret Thatcher when many of the abuse claims were first made.
Baroness Butler-Sloss faced demands for her
resignation less than 24 hours after she was appointed to lead the
Government's probe into abuse by politicians and other powerful figures
Sir Michael was accused of presiding over a ‘whitewash’ and ‘the cover-up of the century’ in the 1980s by Geoffrey Dickens MP, who led a campaign to identify members of a paedophile ring allegedly operating in Whitehall, and including an MI6 officer.
Actor Nigel Havers, Sir Michael’s son, defended his aunt yesterday. He said she ‘had no political ties to my father and knew nothing about what was going on in the House of Commons at that time’, adding: ‘She has every right to lead the inquiry.’
But Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who exposed Cyril Smith’s abuse and led calls for a full inquiry into the alleged official cover-up of child abuse, said: ‘It’s astonishing the Government didn’t realise they were appointing the sister of someone who had tried to deter the prosecution of a significant paedophile. It’s far too Establishment – and the Government need to think again.’
Further doubt was cast on Lady Butler-Sloss’s suitability last night when it emerged she had made significant errors in an inquiry into a Church of England paedophile scandal three years ago.
Eight months after her report was published, the peer had to issue a six-page addendum in which she apologised for ‘inaccuracies’ that arose from her failure to corroborate information provided by senior Anglican figures.
MPs and legal experts said it was inappropriate
for her to keep the post given that her late brother, Sir Michael
Havers, was Attorney General under Margaret Thatcher when many of the
abuse claims were first made
Mr Danczuk said the mistakes ‘raise more concerns’ about her ability to lead an inquiry into failures by Westminster, Whitehall, the BBC, Church and other public bodies to protect children from abuse. Alison Millar, a lawyer who has represented many victims of child abuse, added: ‘The concern is that she is just too close to the Establishment and in particular, [there is] concern over her connection to Sir Michael.’
However, Lady Butler-Sloss – who also headed the Cleveland inquiry into false accusations of child abuse – said yesterday: ‘If people think I am not suitable then that’s up to them.’
Whitehall sources insisted the allegations relating to Sir Michael had been considered before her appointment was announced. A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘She commands the very highest respect for her professional expertise and integrity.’
Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who exposed Cyril
Smith's abuse and led calls for a full inquiry into the alleged official
cover-up of child abuse, said: 'It's astonishing the Government didn't
realise they were appointing the sister of someone who had tried to
deter the prosecution of a significant paedophile'
Last week the Mail reported the story of Sir Peter Hayman, the deputy under-secretary of state at the Foreign Office, who was also believed to be a senior officer in MI6.
In 1978, Hayman – a subscriber to the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange – was caught sending and receiving obscene literature through the post after a package was found on a London bus.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2686781/I-wont-quit-says-head-sex-abuse-inquiry-brother-linked-paedophile-cover-up.html
