More problems for child sex abuse inquiry as another top lawyer quits

Another senior lawyer has reportedly quit the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Aileen McColgan has resigned from the investigation due to concerns over its leadership, BBC Newsnight reported.

Ms McColgan, who is also a law professor at Kings’ College London, was involved in the inquiry’s investigations into the Anglican and Catholic Church

Her reported departure follows senior counsel Ben Emmerson’s resignation a day after he was suspended.

Mr Emmerson’s junior colleague, Elizabeth Prochaska, also stood down.

Current chair Professor Alexis Jay became the fourth person to lead the inquiry after Dame Lowell Goddard’s resignation.

An inquiry spokeswoman did not confirm or deny Ms McColgan’s departure.

She said: “We have a large legal team comprising a number of junior counsel, senior counsel and solicitors.

“They come and go subject to their professional obligations and we are not commenting on specifics.”

Commons Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper said she would request evidence from Ms McColgan and called for transparency over what had gone wrong in the inquiry.

She told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “What’s unclear is how much this has been about legacy problems and, clearly, personality issues, but whether there were also structural issues for the last two years and the difficulties they had, or whether there were ongoing problems for the future.

“I think if we had some transparency about the things that had gone wrong in the past then that will help us be confident that it’s all back on track now.

“But you can’t stress enough that this has got to be about getting it back on track for the survivors of child abuse because they really need to know that this inquiry is going to be effective.”

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