Updated

The head of a British inquiry into child sex abuse says the Anglican and Catholic churches will be among the institutions investigated in the wide-ranging probe.

Justice Lowell Goddard on Friday identified some of the targets of the public inquiry into decades of alleged abuse. Politicians will also come under investigation.

The inquiry under Goddard, a judge from New Zealand, was set up last year amid public outcry following the 2011 death of entertainer Jimmy Savile, after which dozens came forward to say he had abused them.

Subsequent revelations have implicated entertainers, clergy, senior politicians and others. Some victims have also claimed the police failed to investigate allegations of abuse.

Goddard says the probe will "consider allegations of cover-up and conspiracy and review the adequacy of law-enforcement responses."