Government sex abuse inquiry lawyer read about his suspension on the internet

The national probe into child sex abuse has been plunged into fresh controversy after its senior lawyer said he learned of his suspension from the investigation via the internet.

In a fresh blow to the inquiry’s credibility, its counsel, Ben Emmerson QC, said no allegations had yet been put to him and he was left to discover his suspension from news reports.

The £100 million probe, which has been dogged by controversy since it was set up by then Home Secretary Theresa May in 2014, is already on its fourth chairwoman.

However, Home Secretary Amber Rudd insists she retains full confidence in the investigation.

Mr Emmerson was suspended from his post because the probe had “recently become very concerned” about aspects of his leadership, a spokeswoman for the inquiry said.

Mr Emmerson has been “suspended from duty so that these can be properly investigated”, the spokeswoman added. “Suggestions in the press that Mr Emmerson was considering resigning after raising disagreements over the future direction of the inquiry are untrue.

“They are not a matter on which he has advised the chair of the inquiry or the panel,” the inquiry spokeswoman said.

Lawyers acting for the counsel to the inquiry said: “Mr Emmerson has read this evening on the internet that he has been suspended from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. If, and when, allegations are put to him, he will respond appropriately.”

Ms Rudd still has full confidence in the inquiry, a spokeswoman for the Home Office told the Press Association.

A spokeswoman for Ms Rudd said: “Ben Emmerson’s suspension is a matter for the independent inquiry, which is continuing its vital work in exposing the failure of public bodies and other organisations to prevent systematic child sexual abuse.

“Our commitment to this inquiry is undiminished. We owe it to victims and survivors to confront the appalling reality of how children were let down by the very people who were charged to protect them and to learn from the mistakes of the past.”

It had been reported that Mr Emmerson was preparing to quit the probe after clashing with the investigation’s new head Alexis Jay.

Ms Jay took over last month after the investigation was rocked by the sudden resignation as chairwoman of senior New Zealand judge Dame Lowell Goddard, who cited the “legacy of failure” from its beginnings as one of the reasons for standing down.

Baroness Butler-Sloss stood down as chairwoman in 2014, saying she was “not the right person for the job” following opposition to her participation from victims’ families due to the fact her brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general during the period some of the allegations being looked into occurred.

Ms Rudd’s spokeswoman insisted that the terms of reference and scope of the inquiry, which are set by the Home Secretary in consultation with the chairwoman of the probe, will not be changed.

Former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald described Mr Emmerson’s departure as a “categorical disaster”.

He said the inquiry had been “careering out of control since its inception” and the Government had to “face up to the reality that an inquiry lasting years into dozens of public institutions going back decades, quite unable to restrain its own remit, is destined to end as an embarrassing fiasco”.

“From the start it has fatally confused a laudable desire to bring closure to generations of victims with the need for a tightly focused forensic inquiry into the changes that might better protect children in the future,” he told the Times.

“The end result is an apparent attempt at mass therapy on a grotesque scale, which is unlikely to lead to any lasting public benefit and which will only raise hopes of reform to be dashed.”

Ian McFadyen, a campaigner and survivor of abuse, said Mr Emmerson’s suspension was a “devastating blow”.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I think we have one of the largest inquiries that the United Kingdom is to undergo, and legal advice and counsel of his quality and expertise is essential.”

He said the news raises questions over whether the inquiry is fit for purpose, adding: “It’s just been catastrophe after catastrophe and this is a devastating blow for survivors.

“I’ve been involved in this inquiry for the last two-and-a-half years, trying to make sure it is fit for survivors’ purposes to engage with, and have met Mr Emmerson several times and he is someone who I hold in high regard and who I think is trustworthy, so I’m more than upset.”

He said someone with huge legal expertise is needed to work with the inquiry.

The suspension has reignited debate over whether the probe should be split up to make it more manageable.

Mr McFadyen said the terms of reference cannot be altered without the full agreement of those involved but added that he “has no issue” if it does need to be changed.

“We don’t want an inquiry for an inquiry’s sake,” he said. “We want an inquiry that has teeth and that has positive outcomes for future child protection.”

Tory MP James Berry, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a barrister in the Leveson Inquiry, told Today another experienced and intelligent lawyer can be found to assist the inquiry.

He said: “The chair decides who to appoint as counsel to the inquiry; obviously the current chair didn’t appoint Mr Emmerson.

“It has to be someone who is competent for the role who gets on with the chair.”

He dismissed calls for the inquiry to be split up, saying an overarching probe is needed to make meaningful recommendations.

He added: “There are already 13 separate investigations, there are 13 sub-inquiries within this inquiry, and if they were all entirely independent public inquiries you’d lose that overall scrutiny and then the value and the consistency of the recommendations that came out at the end would lose their force.

“I think it’s important that this is done as a composite and then you get some really valuable and broad recommendations at the end.”

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