Chair of child sexual abuse inquiry calls last government’s response ‘awful’ and ‘inconsequential’

The chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has rubbished the last government’s response to her policy recommendations.

Professor Alexis Jay said she experienced complete silence from the Home Office after publishing 20 recommendations at the end of the seven-year inquiry in October 2022.

She told the House of Commons home affairs select committee: “It was awful, I cannot tell you how it felt to constantly read the response from the government.

“It was inconsequential, unsubstantial, committed to nothing.”

Jay said she recommended to No 10 that a small group meet regularly to scrutinise how and whether the recommendations were being implemented.

But she added: “I got no response, and it was suggested to me I should discuss it with the home secretary.

“I raised it with [Suella Braverman] and she was very vague and nothing more was heard until [James] Cleverly was appointed later that year.”

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