Dame Goddard resigns from Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry

Last night, Dame Lowell Goddard resigned from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. In a very brief letter, Goddard wrote to the Home Secretary Amber Rudd giving her resignation with immediate effect.

The letter did not say why she has resigned, however she later gave a statement; that taking the role had been an incredibly difficult step to take, as it meant “relinquishing my career in New Zealand and leaving behind my beloved family”. She also commented on the Inquiry’s “legacy of failure”, and that “with hindsight, it would have been better to have started completely afresh”.

Amber Rudd, Home Secretary responded to Goddard’s resignation, saying “With regret, I agree that this is the right decision… I am determined to keep the process on track and am taking immediate steps to appoint a new Chair as soon as possible”, and that the inquiry will continue “without delay”.

In news coverage of the resignation, it is stated that she had spent 74 days working overseas or on holiday since taking on the inquiry. Other recent coverage of preliminary hearings suggested that Goddard was “unsure of local law”.