London: Dame Lowell Goddard has refused to appear before British Members of Parliament (MPs) to defend her spell in charge of the historical child sex abuse inquiry.
In a letter to MPs, she added she was “disappointed” that ministers had not defended her against “malicious defamatory attacks in some UK media”.
Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Commons home affairs select committee, said the stance of Dame Lowell — who received an estimated £500,000 (Dh2.2 million) for her 18-month spell in charge — was “disgraceful” and “astonishing”.
The New Zealand high court judge returned to her native country following her resignation in August as chairman of the troubled Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA).
In a letter to Cooper, Dame Lowell said she did not need to return to the UK to give evidence in person as there were “no unanswered questions” relating to her time heading the inquiry.
She said she had been advised by senior counsel in New Zealand not to give oral evidence.
She said: “I have volunteered detailed written reports [in preference to oral communication] so that no dispute on powers or damage to IICSA’s independence could arise.”
In terms of the “media attacks”, she wrote: “I am disappointed that there has been no government defence of me in England, despite the fact that information refuting some of the more serious allegations has been held by the Home Office and your committee since the time of my initial recruitment.”
Cooper said: “Dame Lowell has been paid significant amounts of public money to do an extremely important job. This is an astonishing response from a paid public servant who should know how important transparency is in an inquiry as sensitive and crucial as this one.”
