“In 1992, she was appointed Deputy Solicitor-General for New Zealand and in that role supervised the prosecution of indictable crime and criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council.” does not equal “she worked closely with the Privy Council for several years” in fact quite the opposite as she was involved in presenting cases to be decided by them .
I don’t know about you, but generally when I work with people, we tend to build up a rapport. This often leads to socializing, friendships, mutual favours.
Of course, the membership of the Privy Council is extensive and Judge Goddard may or may not be acquainted with some of the key players linked to abuse and/or cover up
“Despite the change to the law, the Privy Council has been involved in the New Zealand judicial system far more recently:”
I stand by that, taking pedantic issue with the wording doesn’t alter the facts… despite the change in the law, cases which predate the change in the law mean on occasion there is still significant interaction between the Privy Council and New Zealand’s legal system.
In isolation that may not be sufficient grounds to refute Judge Goddard’s claims of no ties to the establishment, but it certainly raises questions.
However, when you combine prior contact with the Privy Council with her daughter being the 1st cousin of the Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, her claims of no establishment ties seem quite similar to the same case put by Fiona Woolf:
That is before you take into account that Judge Goddard did not even apply for the role, but was approached by Ben Emmerson, the counsel to the inquiry, who aside from members of the secretariat seconded from the Home Office (some of whom have worked at the Home Office under Leon Brittan), is one of the few members who has been on the inquiry from the start.
Who aided Fiona Woolf in the redrafting of letters regarding her relationship to Leon Brittan has still not been disclosed.