Last week, ConservativeHome called for an inquiry into historical child sex abuse. Is that what Theresa May announced in the House this afternoon?
The short answer is: yes, basically. The longer answer is that she announced two inquiries:
May wasn’t able to fill in every detail of these inquiries – but that’s understandable. She doesn’t want to prescribe or pre-empt the work of the independent inquiry, whose members are yet to be selected.
But the Home Secretary was utterly clear about some broad principles: that all this will be conducted transparently; that the inquires should have access to any documents they need; that nothing should be done to upset any criminal prosecutions; that the investigations should range beyond the public sector; and so on. Among these concrete propositions was May’s revelation that the Government is prepared to turn the independent inquiry into a “full public enquiry,” if its members recommend it. The Government’s position really has shifted since last week.
Another measure of that shift was the response from the Labour benches. Apart from Dennis Skinner’s usual bellicosity – “Coalition cuts,” etc. – most of the questions were calm and considered. Watson and Simon Danczuk both went out of their way to welcome May’s statement. This was a serious House for a sad, serious problem.
It’s likely that there will be more questions to come, once the main inquiry actually begins. For instance, how will it balance so wide a remit – stretching back decades, beyond the public sector – against the requirement to reach conclusions? Will it really have sufficient access to all official files, including those held by the secret services? But, for now, May has done what was necessary.