Judge to child sex abuse inquiry

      LONDON: Britain has appointed a Kiwi judge as the new head of the inquiry into historic child sex abuse. Justice Lowell Goddard was named by home secretary Theresa May following the resignation of the two previous choices. May told MPs that the home office had received 150 applications for the post, which had been rigorously sifted before Justice Goddard's appointment. 
     Justice Goddard, a judge of the High Court of New Zealand, has accepted the post and will appear at a pre-appointment hearing before the Home Affairs Select Committee on February 11. 
       The Home Secretary also announced that the inquiry will be placed on a statutory footing under the 2005 Inquiries Act, with the power to compel witnesses to give evidence. The Inquiry will consider whether, and the extent to which, public bodies and other important institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. A highly respected 

member of the judiciary, Justice Goddard conducted an inquiry into the police handling of child abuse in New Zealand when she was chairman of the country's Independent Police Complaints Association. She is an outstanding candidate with experience in challenging authority in this field, having led with distinction an inquiry into police handling of child abuse cases in New Zealand. 
        I am honoured to be asked to lead this crucial Inquiry - and am well aware of the scale of the undertaking. The Inquiry will be long, challenging and complex. The many, many survivors of child sexual abuse, committed over decades, deserve a robust and thorough investigation of the appalling crimes perpetrated upon them. It is vitally important that their voices are now being heard. 
     
  In what could be the biggest sexual scandal to hit Westminster, three British members of parliament (MPs) and three members of the House of Lords are believed to have been named in a dossier handed to police concerning investigations into the alleged Westminster paedophile ring.