Duncan Hames asks prime minister to institute independent inquiry into the sexual abuse of children

The following exchange took place during prime minister's questions today:

Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD): The Prime Minister will have heard calls from all parts of this House for an independent inquiry on the Hillsborough model into organised child sexual abuse in this country. Can he truly be satisfied that current police investigations are sufficient for the public to have confidence that we are both willing and able to get to the truth?

The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I have looked carefully at the matter with ministerial colleagues, because we have a series of inquiries taking place into what happened in various hospitals, care homes and media organisations. It is important that the Government keep a clear view about how those are being co-ordinated and how the lessons are being learned. If there is a need for any more overarching process to be put in place, I am happy to look at it. At the moment, thanks to the Home Secretary and her colleagues, we have a proper view of what is happening in all those organisations.

As David Hencke and his colleagues say on Exaro, a groundswell of support for such an inquiry is growing at Westminster.

This has arisen from suspicions that public figures who should have been prosecuted for such offences have not been and from the weakness of previous inquiries. That into abuse in Leicestershire children's homes, for instance, heard evidence in private, while the inquiry into abuse Clwyd and Gwynedd refused to consider related offences that were alleged to have taken place outside those counties.

For more information, see the Exaro site and also Ian Pace's blog Desiring Progress.