New Zealand High Court judge Lowell Goddard has been named as the new head of the historical child abuse inquiry.
The Goddard-led inquiry will have statutory powers and a new panel, and will replace the original inquiry set up last July that has seen two chairman resign over links with the establishment that they had been tasked with investigating.
Home Secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons that she is determined that the inquiry will “expose despicable crimes” and Justice Goddard was “as removed as possible from the organisations and institutions that might become the focus of the inquiry”.
Justice Goddard said of her appointment:
“I am honoured…The Inquiry will be long, challenging and complex.”
The judge was appointed to the New Zealand High Court in 1995, and has experience in the field of the inquiry having previously led an inquiry into police handling of child abuse cases in the country.
