The Rt Hon Theresa May MP Secretary of State for the Home Department The Home Office Peel Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF 15 October 2014 Dear Home Secretary, I write further to the invitation to become a panel member of the Inquiry into the institutional response to child sex abuse. I am honoured to have been asked to become a member of the independent panel inquiry which will consider the extent to which State and non-State institutions may have failed in their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation in England and Wales over many years. This is a major inquiry and I am determined that it will examine all the issues and all the organisations, and will ask all the questions, that are necessary to enable it to report fully. I am in a position to confirm that I do not have any ‘direct interest in the matters to which the inquiry relates’ (the language used in section 9 of the Inquiries Act 2005 which sets the statutory benchmark for impartiality in an inquiry). I also do not consider that I have a ‘close association with an interested party’. More generally, I do not consider that any of the matters dealt with below (which set out the full extent, so far as I am aware, of any possible past connection to the events or persons that are or may come under the inquiry’s scrutiny) could reasonably be regarded as affecting my ability to deal independently and impartially with issues which the Inquiry Panel is to investigate. I qualified as a Doctor in 1983 holding a number of junior doctor and senior house officer positions across hospitals in England up until 1986. In 1986 I took up a clinical and teaching position at the University of Nottingham in Child Health, progressively advancing from Lecturer to being made a Professor in 1996. During the same period I also held the position of Honorary Paediatric Registrar until 1990 and thereafter Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at Nottingham University Hospital and Nottingham City Hospital and subsequently the combined Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust. I am aware that during my time in Nottingham a junior doctor at this hospital was accused of child sex abuse allegations. It is my understanding that this individual attempted to commit suicide at some point following this accusation and as a result became disabled which led to them not being fit to stand trial. To the best of my knowledge, I understand the individual no longer practises in the medical profession in the United Kingdom. I was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham from 2003-2009. In 2009 I joined the UK General Medical Council (GMC), serving also on the Fitness to Practice committee dealing with the policy around fitness to practice and the Post Graduate Board. I was a member of the working group which published “Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors” (2012). Please see the attached link to the guidance. http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/13257.asp . My current appointments from 2009 onwards are summarised as follows:  Nuffield Professor of Child Health, Institute of Child Health, University College London  Head of General & Adolescent Paediatric Unit  Honorary Consultant Paediatrician, UCL Hospitals NHS Trust & Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust.  Director of the Policy Research Unit for Children, Young People and Families.  Chair Academy of Medical Royal Colleges  Member of the Executive Committee of the Medical Schools’ Council  Board of Trustees, NSPCC  Chair of Scientific Committee, European Paediatric Association  NHS England – member of working groups and panel reviews I have acted as an expert advisor for the Official Solicitor to the Supreme Court and been instructed by solicitors acting for parents, local authorities and Guardians-adlitem throughout England and by the Medical Defence Union. I have appeared in the Crown Court, the High Court and the County Court as an expert medical witness in both civil and criminal cases on over 50 occasions over the last 20 years. I have a particular interest in children seen as emergencies. From 1990-2003, I was responsible for the care of 600 emergency admissions/year. In addition, until 2003, I have seen 750 children each year in my paediatric clinic and been responsible for the neonatal care of over 800 infants. Since 2003 with my other responsibilities I have had a smaller caseload but I have continued to see paediatric out-patients and in-patients regularly over the last decade. Over my professional career, I have cared for approximately 15,000 children. I last was responsible for emergencies July 2014 and personally saw 20 new emergency admissions. I last saw a suspected child abuse case in my own hospital in June 2013. I have written over 110 invited chapters, editorials and commentaries, both in specialist journals and the general print media; 7 books; and over 145 peer reviewed scientific papers. I have secured over £8.5m in personal research grant funding. I have given many radio, television and newspaper interviews. In the course of my professional career, I have been a member of or have chaired a number of panels, reviews, seminars and working parties. Some of these positions will have been at the invitation of Government Ministers. I have met with Secretaries of State, Government Ministers and Parliamentarians on many occasions in a professional capacity and have given talks to Parliamentary working groups in relevant areas. I have also given evidence before Parliamentary Committees. Of the other proposed panel members, I have met Moira Gibb in a professional capacity. I will keep this matter under review during the tenure of my appointment to the Inquiry Panel. If, during the course of my appointment on this Inquiry Panel I become aware, by any means, of any matters that could affect my impartiality, I will immediately report this matter to the Chair and to you. Yours sincerely Professor Terence STEPHENSON BSc, BM, BCh, DM, FRCP, FRCPCH, Hon FRACP, Hon FRCPI, Hon FHKAP, Hon FRCS