On the 29 April 2015, the Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse announced that the Inquiry will conduct a full investigation into the issues surrounding the allegations of sexual abuse against Lord Greville Janner.
The Inquiry’s investigation will examine and review the conduct of all institutions that have played a role in the case from the outset, with a view to determining whether those institutions properly discharged their duties of care to protect children against sexual abuse and bring perpetrators to justice. The institutions falling within the remit of the investigation will include relevant local authorities, the relevant care home, the Home Office, Leicestershire police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Inquiry will examine the factual basis for the allegations and, in doing so, will seek evidence from relevant victims and witnesses. If the evidence permits findings of fact to be reached concerning the allegations against Lord Janner, the Inquiry will record and publish these findings.
The Inquiry will also examine the allegations that improper attempts were made to influence the decision-making of relevant institutions by figures of public prominence, the previous police investigations and all relevant prosecutorial decisions.
Justice Goddard said:
“The depth of public concern surrounding the Janner case exemplifies the need for a thorough and wholly independent investigation into the adequacy of institutional responses to child sexual abuse, particularly where persons in positions of influence are alleged to have abused children in institutional settings and have, for one reason or another ,escaped prosecution over a number of years.
“It would of course be quite wrong to pre-judge the outcome of our inquiries in any way, but there is, in my view, a clear public interest in conducting an exhaustive and critical examination of the institutional decision-making processes in this case and in exposing them to public scrutiny.
“Given the prominence of this case, and the controversy that surrounds it, I am taking responsibility for leading this investigation. I have asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to provide the Inquiry with the full files held by her office and she has undertaken to do this. I expect nothing less than full co-operation from all relevant institutions.”