Dame Lowell Goddard received £80,000 in pay and allowances when she quit as head of the inquiry into child sexual abuse, the Home Office has confirmed. The wide-ranging inquiry into historical sex abuse was launched in July 2014 in the wake of allegations of cover-ups of abuse by Jimmy Savile and the Lib Dem MP Cyril Smith. The inquiry also spent £75,000 on travel to and from New Zealand for Goddard and her family, a financial report published by the inquiry shows. She has been replaced by the child protection expert Prof Alexis Jay, who previously chaired a report into widespread abuse and grooming in Rotherham. A Home Office spokeswoman said: “The independent inquiry has a vital role to play in exposing the failure of public bodies and other major organisations to prevent child sexual abuse.

Source: The Guardian October 11, 2016 14:43 UTC