Abuse inquiry to focus next on three top Catholic schools

The chief lawyer for the National Child Abuse investigation has recommended that it focuses on three independent, Catholic Benedictine boarding schools, Ampleforth College, Downside Abbey and Worth School, in the next phase of its inquiry.

Riel Karmy-Jones QC was speaking at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, in advance of the Catholic strand of the public inquiry-style hearing, which is due to start in November and will last for a few weeks.

Lawyers for the victims, who have been given core participant status,  also discussed the possibility of a delay around the investigation into St Benedict’s independent school at Ealing Abbey in London, as the proposed dates for hearings in November and December clash with the criminal trial of a man previously connected with Ealing Abbey who has been charged with child abuse offences.

But it was also argued this would be “wholly unrealistic” as it might push some aspects of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) back by up to a year. Ms Karmy-Jones, senior counsel to the IICSA, said that a key aspect of the IICSA’s remit is to make recommendations for the future. She added that this does not exclude evidence being used from other schools or being revisited at a later date.

As The Tablet went to press, the inquiry’s chair, Professor Alexis Jay, was expected to consider the arguments and make a recommendation at a later date.

The inquiry into the Catholic Church in England and Wales, which includes a second case study of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, is one of 13 investigations, which also involve the Anglican Church, Lambeth Council in London and Rochdale Borough Council.

It will examine the nature and extent of abuse within the Catholic Church and institutional responses, including the adequacy of safeguarding measures.

The national investigation is expected to take five years, after which it will publish a report and recommendations. The inquiry does not have the power to determine criminal liability of organisations or individuals but must “refer any allegation of child abuse it receives to the police”, an IICSA spokesperson said.

Professor Jay is a former director of social services who headed the inquiry into child exploitation in Rotherham.

She is the fourth chairperson since the IICSA launched three years ago. Following her appointment, she pledged to neither reduce nor restrict its scope, adding that she expects “significant progress” to be made by the end of 2020.

By Carina Murphy