In an interview on Monday last week, Tessa welcomed The Home Secretary’s announcement to hold a full, independent Inquiry into worrying patterns of ‘lost’, suppressed and destroyed evidence about paedophile rings which, it is alleged, involve high-profile individuals.

Tessa and six other MPs had written to Theresa May last month about the need for a completely independent investigation into the procedures used by the authorities when reports of sexual abuse are raised.  She had serious concerns about apparently side-lined and abandoned prosecutions and alleged cover-ups, stemming from victims’ assertions that abusers were influential, famous and consequently powerful – and able to sway society’s official ‘enforcers’ away from the path to justice.

During that interview, Tessa disclosed that she had been a victim of sexual abuse in her childhood. 

Tessa said:

“I’m a survivor.”

Three small words I dropped into conversation in the House of Commons this week.  I want to explain what those words mean to me.

Local MP Tessa Munt has welcomed the Home Secretary’s announcement that she will establish a full, independent Inquiry into the worrying pattern of ‘lost’, suppressed or destroyed evidence about paedophile rings which, it is alleged, include prominent politicians, celebrities and other high-profile members of the establishment.

The Home Secretary’s announcement follows a letter to her, signed by Tessa and 6 other MPs, last month. The letter has since attracted another 140 MPs’ signatures from across the political divides, and an online petition attracted over 78,000 signatures in a matter of days.

Tessa said:

“There is the potential for abuse wherever an individual has power over others.  Where that imbalance exists, we should all be alert to the risks of abuse and must try to listen harder to those who may feel they do not have a voice – whether they are children, adults or the elderly, from the playground to the nursing home, whether victims of domestic, sexual, emotional or any other form of abuse.  Then, if we have heard that voice, we have a responsibility to act.”

Tessa is one of a cross party team of seven MPs which has called on the Home Secretary to hold a national inquiry into historical child sex abuse, exploring alleged cover-ups by the authorities.

The seven MPs have written a joint letter to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, urging her to set up “a full, properly-resourced investigation into the failure of the Police, HM Customs & Excise and other agencies to follow up on evidence in a number of historical cases of child sex abuse, some dating back to the 1970s and said to involve paedophile rings consisting of leading politicians, celebrities and other figures of the establishment.

Worrying patterns have emerged whereby evidence has been ‘lost’ or ‘destroyed’, which has stifled investigations to date.