Fiona Woolf steps down as head of the Government's child abuse inquiry

Child abuse whistleblowers call on another panellist to go - reports the Times today.

"The former social worker faced calls to resign last night after it was revealed that when she was criticised by an investigation into the death of a young girl, she said that she "would never go through an inquiry again".

"Ms Hearn was criticised in an official inquiry into the death of Lucy Gates, two, in Bexley, southeast London, after neglect and abuse by her mother."

"Ms Hearn, 61, does not mention her involvement in the Lucy Gates inquiry in her letter to the home secretary detailing any relevant issues."

"The whistleblowers also highlighted concerns about Ms Hearn’s connections with social work managers from the Labour-controlled Islington council in north London when there was widespread sexual abuse in the borough’s children’s homes."

"Ms Hearn was appointed to the National Children’s Bureau in the 1990s by John Rea Price, who had been director of social services at Islington council. She later became deputy chief executive of the organisation, where she worked closely with Sara Noakes, who had been in charge of child protection in Islington at the time of the paedophile abuse. The two women wrote a book together about child protection for social workers. "

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4254501.ece