The head of a leading children’s charity will front an investigation into the handling of historical child sex abuse allegations, the Home Secretary has told Parliament.

Peter Wanless, CEO of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), from Seal, will head the independent investigation into the manner in which police and prosecutors handled historic cases.

In a statement to MPs yesterday, Theresa May addressed issues raised by the public about failure of the Home Office to act on allegations of child sex abuse cases in the 1980s and the failure of institutions taking their duty of care towards children seriously.

An inquiry likened to the Hillsborough investigation will be established by the Government to examine the handling of child sex abuse by public bodies.

Mrs May has said, if deemed necessary by the panel, it could be upgraded to a full public inquiry.

Mr Wanless, 49, said: “It’s important to discover everything we can about what happened to these files, not only to help those who may have been victims of abuse many years ago but also to protect those children at risk now.

“The NSPCC is known for its independence and I will approach this review with the due diligence and dedication it warrants- which is what all children have every right to expect.”

Mrs May has said the NSPCC chief would be helped in his review by a senior legal figure.

The father-of-one will be focusing on concerns that the Home Office failed to act on allegations, details of which were collected in a dossier handed over by former Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens in the 1980s.

An investigation was launched last year into the information the Home Office received in relation to child abuse allegations, including details submitted by Mr Dickens.

The summary was published on Sunday August 1 last year and discovered 13 pieces of information concerning child sex abuse allegations.

In her statement, Mrs May said: “The police already knew about nine of those items, and the remaining four were passed to the police immediately.

“The investigation found that 114 potentially relevant files were not available.

"These are presumed – by the Home Office and the investigator – destroyed, missing or not found, although the investigator made clear that he found no evidence to suggest that the files had been removed or destroyed inappropriately.”

“The NSPCC is known for its independence and I will approach this review with the due diligence and dedication it warrants” - Peter Wanless

Mrs May has said the priority of the investigation is the prosecution of the people behind the horrendous crimes, she added: “We will adopt a presumption of maximum transparency.

“Where there has been a failure to protect children from abuse, we will expose it and we will learn from it."

The report is expected to return within 10 weeks but not before the next election.

An NSPCC spokesman said: “We’re pleased the Home Secretary has announced these measures so we can get a clearer picture of exactly what has happened.

“While there are lingering questions the public will continue to have concerns about a cover-up and children will remain at risk of harm.”