Nobody doubts this eighty year old judge’s credentials or ability. Her integrity is gold standard. Her achievements are remarkable. But this is not the point.
First there has been a succession of discredited enquires lead by distinguished judges. Second this is not really just about the shocking and inexplicable phenomenon of child abuse. It is about covering up the practice of child abuse by senior establishment figures in various institutions and suppressing that evidence. It is the establishment which is under scrutiny as much as the perpetrators. To select an establishment figure to lead the enquiry is hardly wise, though perhaps difficult to avoid. To select one whose late brother is thought to be one of those who suppressed such evidence as Attorney General, hopelessly derails the enquiry even before it is off the ground.
Lady Butler-Sloss has become the story. The subject of the inquiry is too shocking to suffer this distraction. She should stand down.