Scottish Catholic Observer

May 27 saw the group meet for the first time, and saw working groups founded, which will develop and assess the future activities of the group.

An autonomous body that works separately from the Church, the IRG will look at the standards of safeguarding and do independent audits at the reccomendation of the McLellan Commission.

“This group has been set up six months ahead of schedule and the experience members bring to this vital role is considerable indeed,” said Helen Liddell (pictured above with Archbishop Tartaglia), who was appointed chair of the IRG by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland in December last year. “I am very grateful to them for their willingness to serve.

“The IRG is committed to ensuring the safeguarding procedures in the Catholic Church in Scotland meet the highest standards and it will conduct its business with transparency, vigour and compassion,” added the former MP and Secretary of State for Scotland.

Ms McLellan is joined by a number of other individuals with a breadth of experience, including: Bartolomeo Biagini, an educational consultant and former HM inspector of education; Gordon Jeyes OBE, the UK’s first director of Children’s services; Roisin McGoldrick, a former McLellan Comission member and teaching fellow in social work and social policy at Strathclyde University; Lesleyann Russell, an experienced charity trustee and manager; and Donald Urquart, the National Safeguarding Adviser to the Scottish Episcopal Church.