Samantha Morton tells abuse survivors: we will not be forgotten

Samantha Morton, the actor who has spoken of being abused, has sent a message of support to hundreds of abuse survivors meeting on Wednesday.

Morton said: “We will not forget, we will not be forgotten. The abuse we suffered is happening right now to a child desperately in need of rescuing.

“We come together to stop abuse so the perpetrators of this horrific crime can be brought to justice. I keep peace in my heart which I will share with you all.”

Hundreds of survivors of child abuse crowded into a Commons committee room to debate how the government’s child abuse inquiry should be conducted.

John Mann, MP for Bassetlaw, called on survivors of child abuse to speak with one voice as they demand changes to an inquiry set up by Theresa May, or risk the collapse of the whole process.

The home secretary has said three options are being considered for a new statutory inquiry, only one of which involves maintaining the original panel. Mann, a Labour MP, said that unless there was unity, there was a risk that the inquiry would not take place.

“We want to see if a consensus can be reached,” he said. “There is a clear consensus on wanting this inquiry to have statutory powers, but there needs to be a united voice on other demands. I will be saying today that if there isn’t a united voice then we lose our power over the process.”

The inquiry, which was set up by May to consider whether public bodies and other non-state institutions failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales, has been beset by problems. The first two chairwomen, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss and Fiona Woolf, stood down after complaints from survivors that they were connected to establishment figures. The panel has begun its work but a new chair has yet to be appointed.

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On Wednesday Michael Mansfield QC responded to a petition requesting that he chair the inquiry by saying he was willing to consider doing so if the government set up a process that was properly constituted and empowered.

But he warned survivors this may not happen. “As you are acutely aware … the authorities have a habit of ignoring the wishes and needs of those most affected. This has happened yet again on a massive scale until the whole process was ground to a standstill by the second proposed chair standing down. Now of course all kinds of blandishments are being offered to the survivors. I’m sure no one will be taken in and everyone will exercise circumspection.”

If a proper inquiry did not go ahead, Mansfield suggested, a people’s commission should be set up to expose malpractice and determine accountability.

Peter Saunders, from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said the inquiry had to go ahead. “There is suddenly the perception that the government is taking this seriously and this inquiry has to take place. There are issues around the terms of reference and reforming the constitution of the panel, but these are things that can be resolved with discussion and consultation.”