NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless has been asked by the Home Secretary to lead a review into whether the Home Office failed to act on allegations of child sex abuse.

The review will look at how the Home Office handled allegations of child sex abuse that were set out in a dossier in the 1980s by former Conservative MP Geoff Dickens, and how police and prosecutors handled information given to them. Wanless will report back in eight to ten weeks time.

Last week the Labour MP Simon Danczuk called on the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan to explain what happened to the documents after a Home Office review found that 114 files relating to child sex abuse were not available.

Wanless 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.”

Theresa May said: “I want to address two important public concerns: first that in the 1980s the Home Office failed to act on allegations of child sex abuse and second, that public bodies and other important institutions have failed to take seriously their duty of care towards children."

Brittan has defended his handling of the material give to him by Dickens, and said it had been passed on to the relevant officials. The 2013 Home Office review said he had acted appropriately.

May also announced a Hillsborough-style panel inquiry, which will not report before the election next year, into the handling of child abuse by public bodies.