Second group of grooming gangs victims back Phillips after call for her to quit

A group of survivors working with the grooming gangs inquiry have written to the Prime Minister backing Jess Phillips to stay in post as safeguarding minister after a call for her to quit.

Sir Keir Starmer had earlier said he “of course” has faith in Ms Phillips after four women who quit the inquiry’s victims liaison panel said they would be prepared to return if she resigned.

But a new letter from five others to Sir Keir and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood listed Ms Phillips remaining in post as one of a series of conditions for them to keep working with the investigation.

They wrote: “Jess Phillips MP has remained impartial to the process, only listening to feedback, we want her to remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency.

“Her previous experience and drive to reduce VAWG (violence against women and girls) and her clear passion and commitment is important to us.”

They said they had asked for the scope to be larger than grooming gangs because some survivors would be excluded for not fitting the “generalised stereotype” of what that includes.

Ms Phillips was “clear that the focus would be on grooming gangs”, they said.

The letter was signed by Samantha Walker-Roberts, Scarlett Jones and Caitlin Spencer, as well as two survivors using the pseudonyms Claire and Katie.

It came after four others from the panel – Ellie-Ann Reynolds, Fiona Goddard, Elizabeth Harper and a woman signed only as “Jessica” – sent a letter with five conditions that must be met for them to return to the advisory panel.

Those include Ms Phillips standing down, for the inquiry to be “laser-focused” on grooming gangs, and for its chair to be a former or sitting judge.

The four women wrote in a letter to the Home Secretary that Ms Phillips had labelled some of their claims “untrue” and that they had provided evidence to the contrary.

Ms 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 said “evidence has since proven we were telling the truth”.

Ministers have rallied around Ms Phillips, with a spokesperson for the Home Secretary saying she has her “full support” and Health Secretary Wes Streeting praising her work to support victims and survivors of violence.

The Prime Minister backed her during a visit to a mosque on Thursday.

He said: “The most important thing in relation to the grooming gangs is that we have the national inquiry and that absolutely gets to the truth and to justice.”

Asked if he has faith in the minister, the Prime Minister told BBC South East: “Yes, of course, I do.

“Jess has been working on issues involving violence against women and girls for many, many years.”

The Prime Minister is going to reach out to the victims, it is understood.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported that survivor Gaia Cooper had quit the panel and backed the call for a judge-led inquiry.

The BBC reported another survivor using the pseudonym Carly had joined the call for Ms Phillips to resign, but wanted to remain part of the inquiry.

It is thought there are no candidates left in the running to be chair after former police officer Jim Gamble and Annie Hudson, a former director of children’s services for Lambeth, both withdrew.

Mr Gamble said he had pulled out of the appointment process because of a “lack of confidence” in him among some survivors because of his police background.

He also hit out at politicians “playing games” with the inquiry and said victims had been “disrespected and misinformed”.

Kemi Badenoch meanwhile rejected the suggestion she is using victims as a political football.

Asked whether she accepts criticism from Labour MP Natalie Fleet, who was groomed and raped as a teenager, the Tory leader told the PA news agency: “No, I don’t. I’m doing my job, and perhaps if Labour MPs were doing their job we would have a national inquiry.

“Natalie Fleet voted against a national inquiry three times. She, like other Labour MPs, (has) been trying to sweep this under the carpet.”

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

He also noted the Government was trying to stick to the recommendations in Baroness Louise Casey’s “national audit” of group-based child sexual exploitation, which he said did not advise appointing a judge.

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

The Home Office said it was “disappointed” candidates to chair the inquiry had withdrawn and that it needed to “take the time to appoint the best person suitable for the role”.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy acknowledged there had been “setbacks” this week but added that “we move forward”.

He added: “The starting point is: this is hard. My drawing on 25 years of experience in public life, dealing with families experiencing pain, suffering, sometimes grief – and I’m thinking of in my career, scandals like Windrush, like Grenfell Tower – there often is not a uniform voice.”

He said it was “very tough” but Sir Keir had been clear the inquiry will leave “no stone unturned” and that the background of the perpetrators including their ethnicity and religion “is absolutely on the table”.

In the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir 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 Casey is being drafted in to support the work of the inquiry.

Baroness Casey’s audit 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 are “the right people to take this forward”.