MEN who allegedly suffered sexual abuse at a former approved school have criticised the judge who quit a child abuse inquiry before deciding if they could take part.

Lawyers for nine men who claim they were seriously and repeatedly sexually abused at Stanhope Castle School, in County Durham, in the 1950s and 1970s, accused Justice Lowell Goddard of treating their clients with contempt.

Some of them travelled to London’s High Court last month seeking core participant status, which would enable them to make submissions and give them special rights.

But the New Zealand judge failed to determine their applications and just days later became the third person to resign as head of the wide-ranging independent inquiry.

Lawyer David Enright, of Howe & Co Solicitors, said it was unacceptable the vulnerable men were offered no resolution on their application before she quit.

According to the national press Mr Enright has written to Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, to complain.

He said: “My clients were shocked that, subsequently and just days after they had made their renewed application for core participant status to Justice Goddard, she resigned with immediate effect.

“At no time, in the interim, did she consider it appropriate to determine my clients’ applications, which had been made before her and after a number of my clients had travelled to London to be present in the High Court.

“My clients rightly consider it entirely unacceptable for a senior judge to, seemingly, simply walk off the job (or be asked to leave her job) before determining their application.”

Mr Vaz has called for the judge to explain her resignation and is expected to challenge her treatment of the men.

Durham police investigated complaints of historic abuse at Stanhope Castle School but no criminal action was taken as alleged offenders were either dead or untraceable.

The former approved school for boys was set up after the Second World War and ran by the Home Office, then from 1974 to 1981 was a controlled children’s home run by the former Cleveland County Council. Its liabilities were inherited by Middlesbrough Council which now faces compensation claims.