10:14

Professor Alexis Jay is to take over as chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse following the resignation of Justice Lowell Goddard, the home secretary has announced.

Jay, a child protection expert with more than 30 years experience led the official inquiry into the Rotherham scandal which found that at least 1,400 children were sexually exploited in the town between 1997 and 2013.

The home secretary, Amber Rudd, announcing Jay’s appointment said: “She has a strong track record in uncovering the truth and I have no doubt she will run this independent inquiry with vigour, compassion and courage.”

Goddard, a New Zealand judge who was the third person to have been named as inquiry chair, offered her resignation last week saying the inquiry had been beset by a “legacy of failure”.

