The Government today appointed a new head of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), naming social care expert Alexis Jay to lead an investigation that has been dogged by leadership problems since it was set up in 2014.

Jay, who led a separate 2014 investigation into child sexual abuse in the northern town of Rotherham, becomes the fourth person to lead the wide-ranging inquiry after its former chair, the New Zealand High Court Judge Lowell Goddard, quit last week.

Jay said in a statement: "Together with my fellow panel members, we will fearlessly examine institutional failures, past and present, and make recommendations so that the children of England and Wales are better protected now and in the future".

Described by the Government as "a child protection expert with over 30 years' experience", Jay had already been working as a member of the panel investigating allegations from victims who say politicians, the Anglican and Catholic Churches, councils and schools have failed to deal with abuse.

Two other chairwomen previously quit the inquiry amid criticism over conflicts of interest relating to their ties to the political establishment.

Goddard resigned unexpectedly following criticism over her expenses, travel and time away from the inquiry's base in London, along with reports of tensions within the inquiry's panel.

"Let there be no doubt: our commitment to this inquiry is undiminished," Home Secretary Amber Rudd said, announcing the appointment.

"We owe it to victims and survivors to confront the appalling reality of how children were let down by the very people who were charged to protect them and to learn from the mistakes of the past."

Additional reporting by Reuters