Victims who quit grooming gang inquiry panel ‘may return if Phillips resigns’

Four women who resigned from the grooming gang inquiry’s victims liaison panel have said they would be prepared to return if Jess Phillips quits as safeguarding minister.

It comes after two candidates withdrew from the running to chair the inquiry and follows the Prime Minister’s defence of Ms Phillips and Baroness Louise Casey as “the right people” to take the national inquiry forward.

In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the four women said that Ms Phillips had labelled some of their claims “untrue” and that they had provided evidence to the contrary.

One of them, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, said the final turning point for her was “the push to change the remit, to widen it in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse”.

Ms Phillips told MPs on Tuesday that “allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope and dilution are false”.

However, in their letter to the Home Secretary, the four victims say that “evidence has since proven we were telling the truth”.

Ms Reynolds, Fiona Goddard, Elizabeth Harper and a woman signed only as “Jessica” state in the letter that there are five conditions that must be met for them to return to the advisory panel.

As well as Ms Phillips’s resignation, they call for “all survivors on the panel to be genuinely consulted on the appointment of a chair, who must be a former or sitting judge”, victims to be able to speak freely without fear of reprisal, the inquiry’s scope to remain “laser-focused” on grooming gangs and the current victim liaison lead to be replaced by a mental health professional.

The survivors’ letter, shared on Ms Goddard’s X account, says: “Being publicly contradicted and dismissed by a government minister when you are a survivor telling the truth takes you right back to that feeling of not being believed all over again.

“It is a betrayal that has destroyed what little trust remained.

“We have been failed by every institution meant to protect us. We were failed as children, we were failed by police who didn’t believe us, failed by social services who blamed us, and failed by a system that protected our abusers.

“We will not participate in an inquiry that repeats those same patterns of dismissal, secrecy, and institutional self-protection.”

The development comes after the man thought to be the only remaining candidate to chair the inquiry withdrew from the process on Tuesday, 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”.

He cast doubt on whether a judge could lead the inquiry, telling BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning that the chair should be picked based on “integrity” and “character” rather than what institution they had been part of.

He also noted that the Government was trying to stick to the recommendations in the Casey report, which he said did not advise appointing a judge.

Asked if he had confidence in Ms Phillips, he said: “To be honest, I do. I’ve seen nothing to remove that confidence.”

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.”

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.”

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”.

He said she and Ms Phillips were “the right people to take this forward”.

Children’s minister Josh MacAlister said on Thursday that Ms Phillips would stay in post.

The safeguarding minister has the “full backing of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary”, he said.