Saturday 1 November 2014

Have Keith Vaz and Theresa May done a grubby deal about the relationship between Fiona Woolf and Leon Brittan?

Have Keith Vaz and Theresa May done a grubby deal which will have the effect of concealing possible impropriety, including possible Contempt of Parliament, by Fiona Woolf and others associated with the Child Abuse Inquiry?

Is Keith Vaz being a hypocrite?

Keith Vaz criticised Fiona Woolf for collusion with officials in the preparation of the various drafts of her letter to Theresa May.

But has Vaz secretly colluded with Theresa May to stop investigation of possible improper conduct by Fiona Woolf and various officials related to the Inquiry and in the Home Office?

I'm not aware of anyone previously asking these questions.

If anyone is to have faith in the confirmation hearing by the Home Affairs Select Committee it seems to me that Keith Vaz and Theresa May must tell us how the deal was done.

Events relating to the UK Child Abuse Inquiry moved fast on 31st October, culminating in the resignation of Fiona Woolf as Chair-designate at 17.00.

In the media interviews which followed it became clear that there had been secret discussions between Theresa May and Keith Vaz.

One very surprising outcome of those secret discussions was that Keith Vaz's Home Affairs Select Committee was to conduct a "confirmation hearing" with respect to Fiona Woolf's successor.

It has also emerged on Twitter that Fiona Woolf won't be called back on Tuesday 4th November to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee.

This, potentially, allows a very convenient veil to be drawn over the possible improper collusion in the preparation of the various drafts of the Fiona Woolf letters.

There are several important questions that, so it seems, won't now be asked:

For example,

  1. What was the relationship between Fiona Woolf and Leon Brittan? We don't know. By virtue of skilled evasion Fiona Woolf has not disclosed the nature of the relationship.
  2. Did Fiona Woolf and various officials set out to deceive the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Public by concealing aspects of the relationship between Mrs. Woolf and Leon Brittan? We don't know but I think we should know.
  3. What was the sequence of drafts and who contribued to which draft? We don't know because Fiona Woolf concealed that information in her letter to Mr. Vaz.
  4. Did officials of the Child Abuse Inquiry and of the Home Office participate in deception? We don't know. I believe we should know.
These, and other questions, now won't be asked. At least that's how it looks.

The bottom line is this. Did Theresa May agree to a "confirmation hearing" about Fiona Woolf's replacement with the quid quo pro that Keith Vaz wouldn't look too hard into the collusion between Fiona Woolf and officials, both in the Home Office and the Child Abuse Inquiry?

Are the Home Office and the Home Affairs Select Committee, in effect, covering up what happened?

Was a grubby deal done between Keith Vaz and Theresa May?

In the interests of "total transparency" I think we must be told what was discussed on 31st October between Mr. Vaz and Mrs. May.

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