Second candidate to chair grooming gangs inquiry withdraws after survivors quit

The man thought to be the only remaining candidate to chair the national grooming gangs inquiry has withdrawn from the process, blaming people “using and abusing” their position for victims being “disrespected and misinformed”.

Former police officer Jim Gamble also hit out at politicians prioritising “their own petty personal or political issues” and “playing games” with the inquiry.

In his withdrawal letter, he said he had pulled out of the appointment process because of a “lack of confidence” in him among some survivors of grooming gangs “due to my previous occupation”.

He later criticised those “who have been mischief-making” by highlighting his former police career, saying it was “nonsense” to imply that he would align himself “with any political party to hide their blushes”.

Asked why he stepped back, Jim Gamble told Sky News: “I think the growing level of toxicity and the fact that in the midst of lots of misinformation, I think many of the victims and survivors were being disrespected and misinformed, and have a genuine feeling that some of that was about people using and abusing their position and influence with them.”

He accused people of “scaremongering” as he denied ever having come under pressure to change the scope of the probe.

“Everybody needs to park their own petty personal or political issues and focus on what’s right for victims.

“In stepping back, I am trying to do that, but these other individuals need to stop playing games with this, because actually this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Condemning what he called “political point-scoring” over the issue during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, Mr Gamble said his anger was primarily directed at “opposing parties” because “the current Government are trying to do this”.

He warned that the right chairperson must be found urgently because “the longer you wait, the more stale the evidence will get, the more people who need to be held account will move on and retire or die”.

He follows Annie Hudson, a former director of children’s services for Lambeth who was reported to have withdrawn on Tuesday, and leaves the Government looking for alternative candidates.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that candidates to chair that inquiry have withdrawn. This is an extremely sensitive topic, and we have to take the time to appoint the best person suitable for the role.”

The withdrawals follow the resignation of four women from the inquiry’s victims and survivors panel, citing concerns that the individuals being considered to chair the probe had connections to the police or social services.

They also cited a “toxic environment” and proposals to widen the scope of the inquiry.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted the inquiry “is not and will never be watered down” and its scope “will not change”.

He said: “It will examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders, and we will find the right person to chair the inquiry.”

A former police officer in Northern Ireland, where he was head of the Belfast region for the now-disbanded Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch, Mr Gamble led the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command of the National Crime Agency until 2010.

In his resignation letter, he said: “While I was told that the majority of those I spoke with supported my position, it is clear that a lack of confidence due to my previous occupation exists among some.”

His withdrawal comes as the Government’s grooming gangs inquiry faces turmoil following the resignations of Fiona Goddard, Ellie-Ann Reynolds and two other unnamed women from the victims and survivors panel.

Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has also faced calls to resign, with Ms Goddard accusing the MP of calling her a “liar” after she disputed allegations the inquiry is being watered down.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch joined calls for Ms Phillips to be sacked, saying the inquiry is about “Labour failure”.

She said: “Labour never wanted this inquiry, we demanded it.

“It has been Labour-run councils, Trafford, Bradford, Blackpool, that tried to suppress the truth. It is Labour ministers attacking the victims. We’re standing up for them.”

In an attempt to assuage concerns over the establishment of the inquiry, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood insisted on Tuesday night that its scope “will not change”.

The Prime Minister also vowed in the Commons on Wednesday that “injustice will have no place to hide” as he announced Baroness Louise Casey is being drafted in to support the work of the inquiry.

Baroness Casey previously led a “national audit” of group-based child sexual exploitation that found “many examples” of organisations shying away from discussion of “ethnicity or cultural factors” in such offences “for fear of appearing racist”.

Her findings, published in June 2025, prompted Sir Keir to order the creation of the national inquiry.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, the Home Office declined to say how Baroness Casey would be supporting the inquiry.

Sir Keir also defended Ms Phillips, saying: “I respect the views of all the survivors, and there are different views, I accept that.

“But the safeguarding minister, I think, has probably more experience than any other person in this House in dealing with violence against women and girls.

“Alongside her will be Louise Casey. These two individuals have spent decades standing up for those who have been abused and sexually exploited, and I absolutely think they’re the right people to take this forward.”

Baroness Casey’s appointment to assist the grooming gangs inquiry is the latest role for a woman who has acted as a government troubleshooter for much of the last three decades.

Prior to her national audit earlier this year, she led efforts to tackle homelessness and anti-social behaviour under Sir Tony Blair’s government, became the country’s first victims’ commissioner in 2010, and carried out a review of standards in the Metropolitan Police following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer in 2021.

Among other roles, she also conducted a review in 2014 of Rotherham Council’s children’s services following a separate inquiry into the local authority’s handling of child sexual abuse.