The head of an independent inquiry into historical child sex abuse has been urged to stand down by a lawyer for victims.
Fiona Woolf has been criticised over her links to former home secretary Lord Brittan - who has denied failing to act on a dossier of allegations against politicians and other powerful figures in the 1980s.
She confirmed on Tuesday that she had attended two dinner parties at Lord Brittan's house and hosted the Tory peer and his wife on three occasions.
But she told a parliamentary committee she did not have a "close association" with the former cabinet minister, who was "one of thousands" of people she knew in London.
Lawyer Alison Millar said the "general view" among her clients was that Mrs Woolf "really does not have the necessary credibility to lead what is such an important inquiry for them".
Asked whether Lord Mayor of London Mrs Woolf should step down, Ms Millar told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes. I think this evidence of dinner parties with Lord Brittan really puts her beyond the pale in terms of her credibility with my clients."
In a statement to the Commons, Home Secretary Theresa May backed Mrs Woolf, saying she believed the inquiry panel - which will also include Rotherham sex abuse report author professor Alexis Jay - would "carry out their duties to the highest standards".
Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who led the campaign for an inquiry, said Mrs Woolf and Lord Brittan were "clearly good friends" and she should stand down as chairwoman.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he had no evidence that Mrs Woolf had not been thoroughly vetted, but appeared to stop short of offering full support.
Answering questions after delivering a speech in south London, the Liberal Democrat leader said: "We all need to have confidence that the decisions taken by the Home Secretary... were thorough.
"I have not heard anything that suggests to me the process by which Theresa May made the recommendation is anything other than thorough."
Lord Brittan is likely to be called to give evidence to the inquiry over a dossier he received from MP Geoffrey Dickens in 1983, documenting the alleged involvement of VIP figures in a child sex ring.
Mrs Woolf replaced Lady Butler Sloss, who stood down amid claims of a potential conflict of interest, as her brother Lord Havers was attorney general at the time of some of the events to be investigated.
Downing Street has said Prime Minister David Cameron is "confident that Fiona Woolf and the panel will carry out their duties to the high standards of integrity required".
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