Specimen letter for concerned members of the public to use in emails or letters to Members of Parliament

Theresa May told the House of Commons last week that the proposed Child Abuse Inquiry is a "once in a generation" opportunity.

There has been some discussion on Twitter today about how best to increase the pressure on Members of Parliament so that the perceived problems with the proposed "Panel Inquiry" will be fixed.

How can we ensure there will be a truly worthwhile Child Abuse Inquiry that merits the "once in a generation" label?

One way to move things forward is for members of the public to write to their Member of Parliament.

Many won't have done that before.

I've put together a specimen letter which any concerned member of the public can use to send a letter or an email to their Member of Parliament.

They can simply copy and paste the specimen letter and remove any parts they aren't confident of or or don't agree with.

And add anything else that they want to say in the email or letter.

The easiest way to contact a constituency MP is via email. But it's perhaps the least effective due to the volume of emails that many MPs will receive.

The email addresses of all Westminster Members of Parliament are here:
MPs

So a letter is perhaps a more effective way to put the issue of the child abuse inquiry on an MP's radar.

Better still is to arrange to see the MP when he/she is in the constituency.

Here is a suggested text which  can be changed as suits any concerned member of the public.

Dear [MP Name],

I am writing to you as my constituency Member of Parliament because I'm very concerned about the information about historical child abuse that I see on television and read about in the newspapers.

The reports that children may have been killed by VIP abusers and  the suggestion that those killings may have been covered up by the Police are something that I find particularly shocking.

Theresa May has said that the proposed Child Abuse Inquiry is a "once in a generation" chance to investigate child abuse and its seeming cover-up by the Police and others.

So it seems to me that's vital that the proposed Child Abuse Inquiry gets to the bottom of things.

I'm aware that many survivors of child abuse want the Inquiry to be a statutory inquiry (under the Inquiries Act 2005) or a Royal Commission. I ask you to consider if this would improve the inquiry so that survivors and the public will get to the truth.

I'm also aware that many survivors have little or no confidence in the Panel appointed by Mrs. May. I ask you to look into these concerns about the present Panel members.

I've heard that Keith Vaz who is to conduct "confirmation hearings" tried in 1991 to get the Law changed to prevent the public knowing about child abuse allegations made in open Court. It puzzles me how someone who once tried to conceal child abuse allegations can have such a central role in relation to the proposed Inquiry. Can you contact Mr. Vaz and ask him to make a public statement about his past actions?

I ask you carefully to consider what action you can take in the House of Commons or by writing to the Home Secretary, or seeking a meeting with her, to emphasise to her that your constituents are concerned about child abuse and want to see it properly investigated.

If you get a chance to ask a question at Prime Minister's Questions I ask you seriously to consider whether the issue of child abuse and its cover-up is something you should ask David Cameron about.

Please make sure that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister are made aware of the concerns of survivors about the non-statutory Panel Inquiry.

I find it disturbing that Mr. Cameron seems to think that the issue of child abuse and its cover-up is some sort of unfounded conspiracy theory.

I ask you to consider writing to Mr. Cameron to convey my concerns about this hugely important matter to him.

You're perhaps aware that large numbers of children go missing every year. I find it disturbing that some of these children might have been abused and killed without anyone knowing.

Can you please raise this issue of the many missing children with the Home Secretary so that the parents of children who have been missing for years might have some assurance that their pain is being recognised and properly investigated.

I've become aware that many survivors have enormous emotional trauma to come to terms with. They need support through therapy or counselling. Could you please contact the Health Secretary to raise with him the inadequacy of current support mechanisms.

I would like to meet with you to discuss my concerns about child abuse and its cover-up. Could you please let me know when you will next be in the constituency so we can meet to discuss my concerns.

You will, of course, be aware that a General Election is to take place in May 2015. I wish you to be aware that finding out the truth about child abuse is one of the issues I'll consider seriously before deciding who to vote for next May.

Yours sincerely

[Your name]