Susan O’Brien QC sues Scottish government for £500,000 over child abuse inquiry ejection

Susan O’Brien QC is suing the Scottish government for £500,000 following her resignation from the child abuse inquiry, The Sun reports.

Papers lodged in the Court of Session reveal that a psychologist complained Ms O’Brien had made two inappropriate comments at a training session.

Dr Claire Fyvie said the comments were offensive and that the QC was unfit for the role, but other survivor groups disagreed.

Ms O’Brien said her first comment was simply the view of a survivor and not her own and that her second comment referred to a newspaper story.

She told the inquiry in writing: “My concerns lie almost entirely with the Chair of the Inquiry, Ms Susan O’Brien QC, and with the attitudes and beliefs she appears to hold with regard to survivors of child abuse.”

Ms O’Brien noted it took Dr Fyvie 11 weeks to make the complaint.

The Scottish government told Ms O’Brien: “You can now no longer command the confidence of those for whose benefit the inquiry was established.

“If it became publicly known that you had made those remarks, then your position would be untenable.”

However, fellow panel members Glen Houston and Professor Michael Lamb, who himself resigned on grounds of government interference, opposed the move

First Minster Nicola Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament: “We don’t accept Professor Lamb’s comments about the independence of the Inquiry.”

The legal papers state: “She (Ms O’Brien) considered that she had a duty to inform the public that the Inquiry’s independence was being actively undermined by the defenders (Scottish government).”

Ms O’Brien also argues ministers lacked any legal right to remove her and seeks damages for loss of earnings and damage to her reputation.