The Government is in meltdown after two grooming gang survivors quit a crucial advisory panel, accusing ministers of creating a “toxic” atmosphere and trying to hush victims.
Survivors Walk Out, Cry Foul Over Government ‘Cover-Up’
Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds – victims of horrific grooming gang abuse – dramatically resigned from the Home Office’s liaison panel. They slammed the Government for secretive tactics and refusing to properly face the racial and religious motivations behind the crimes. Goddard vowed not to be “gagged and controlled” while the inquiry was turned into a whitewash by the establishment.
Commons Showdown: Tories Demand Judge-Led Inquiry
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips was hammered in the Commons as Tory MPs called for a senior judge to head the probe into decades of institutional failures. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp blasted Labour leader Keir Starmer for branding demands for an inquiry as “jumping on a far-right bandwagon.” Philp slammed this as “disgraceful” and accused such rhetoric of allowing abuse to fester unchecked.
“That kind of rhetoric is exactly what allowed these crimes to continue for so long,” Philp told MPs, highlighting how authorities shied away from confronting gangs mostly of Pakistani heritage targeting white working-class girls.
Ministers Push Back: Survivors ‘Divided’ Over Inquiry
Jess Phillips dismissed suggestions that the panel resignations represented all victims. She claimed survivors hold “their own views” on publicity and anonymity, insisting no one is being silenced by the Government. Instead, survivor consultations are now handled by a charity, not Whitehall.
Phillips defended ditching a judge-led inquiry, citing Baroness Casey’s report, which warned against a regular judicial probe. She argued the courts had failed victims before — even prosecuting vulnerable children from abusive homes — so another judge-led investigation would do more harm than good.
More Questions Than Answers
- Should judges who failed victims previously be put in charge now?
- Can the ethnic and religious roots of these crimes be tackled without targeting entire communities?
- Are survivors truly shaping the process or just being used as window dressing?
- Do fiery resignations from Goddard and Reynolds mark yet another round of victim silencing by an establishment obsessed with optics over truth?
Despite Ministers’ insistence on their commitment to justice, the walkouts and accusations of “cover-up” and victim “gagging” suggest the Government’s message is falling on deaf ears – and the call for real accountability is growing louder.
