Revealed: New boss of investigation into VIP child abuse claims is linked to Leon Brittan: The Mail On Sunday exposes family friendship of SECOND...

• Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, appointed to carry out role of investigating claims of an Establishment cover-up of VIP paedophile rings 
• The previous chairman Baroness Butler-Schloss stood down because her brother, Michael Havers, tried to dissuade a Tory MP publicly naming a paedophile
• Home Office last night refused to answer questions about what it had known about Mrs Woolf’s links to Lord Brittan 

By Martin Beckford and Simon Murphy for The Mail on Sunday

The new chairman of a long-awaited Government inquiry into historic child sex abuse was facing calls to resign last night after The Mail on Sunday discovered her astonishing links to Leon Brittan – a key figure embroiled in the scandal.

Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, was appointed to carry out the important role of investigating claims of an Establishment cover-up of VIP paedophile rings on Friday, two months after the original chairman was forced to step down over conflicts of interest.

But this newspaper has found that the top corporate lawyer is also closely linked to Lord Brittan – who is likely to give evidence to her inquiry. It can be revealed that she:

• Sits on the board of a City of London conference with Lord Brittan, who is accused of overseeing an Establishment cover-up when he was Home Secretary;
• Judges an annual City award scheme alongside Lord Brittan’s wife, Diana;
• Gave Lord Brittan’s wife a £50 donation and a friendly good-luck message when she took part in a charity fun run last year;
• Has been a neighbour of Lord and Lady Brittan in the same exclusive London street for the past decade;
• Is a governor of the elite Guildhall School of Music where pupils are said to have been abused;
• Is a patron of a body for female lawyers along with Labour’s Harriet Harman, whose National Council of Civil Liberties once had links to a notorious paedophile group

Last night Labour MP Simon Danczuk – who has led calls for a public inquiry into historic child sex abuse in the wake of revelations about high-profile figures such as Sir Jimmy Savile – questioned Mrs Woolf’s appointment. ‘If it’s found that Fiona Woolf is close to the Brittans, her position is untenable and she needs to be clear about what her relationship is with Leon Brittan, who is one of the most significant figures in terms of suggestions of a cover-up,’ he said. ‘Surely the Home Office was aware of this before they suggested appointing her?’

[more...]