Sir Keir Starmer has backed safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, as a fifth abuse survivor calls on her to quit to restore trust in the grooming gangs inquiry.
Carly, not her real name, joins a group of four abuse survivors who have accused Phillips of “betrayal” over a letter where she described reports the scope of the inquiry could be expanded as “untrue”.
Carly told the BBC she wanted to remain part of the inquiry, in contrast to the four survivors who said they would only re-join it if Phillips stood down as a minister – but she said she agreed with their criticisms.
The prime minister said he still had faith in Phillips to be in charge of setting up the inquiry.
The national inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs in England and Wales was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June.
The PM said the inquiry would have the power to compel witnesses to be questioned and would be guided by a panel of survivors, which the BBC understands had at least 20 members at the start.
There has been turmoil over the past week, with Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds quitting the survivors panel in the inquiry on Monday, and two more known as “Elizabeth” and “Jess” following them on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
They all wrote open letters citing similar concerns, around the inquiry being widened beyond grooming gangs, tight controls on what they could say and who they could speak to, and potential inquiry chairs having links to policing and social work – two professions facing questions about trust.
An email was sent to members of the survivors pane by NWG, the charity tasked with organising it on behalf of the government, asking if they wanted to keep the the inquiry focused on grooming gangs or if they would like it to be widened out and there is disagreement among survivors on this.
Phillips published a letter on Tuesday warning there was “misinformation” swirling around the inquiry and seeking to “set the record straight”, saying that taking four months to appoint a chair was not unusual for large public inquiries and was not evidence of a “cover up”.
However, she also wrote that reports the government is “seeking to dilute the focus of the inquiry were “untrue” and she insisted that it would be “laser-focused” on grooming gangs.
This appears have sparked anger among the four survivors, who write in their letter to the home secretary that they had “raised legitimate concerns around the inquiry’s direction” but “in response, your safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips called our accounts untrue”.
They wrote: “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 destroyed what little trust remained.”
Now Carly, from Huddersfield, has told the BBC the latest letter is “bang on” and she also believes Phillips should go, because “she can’t lie about what we all know” around the question of whether to widen the inquiry’s scope.
“I think maybe the best thing for Jess to do is resign,” she said, adding: “Maybe the prime minister needs to come and meet us survivors ourselves, because you can’t really sit there and preach when you have not actually come and met us.
“I think the decent thing to do would be to stop arguing in Parliament and come and meet us and let’s all work together.”
Carly also said survivors have been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement, which feels like a gagging process to silence them.
Asked earlier by BBC South East if Phillips can continue in her position, Sir Keir 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 PM added: “Yes, of course, I do. Jess has been working on issues involving violence against women and girls for many, many years.”
Before becoming an MP, Phillips worked for Women’s Aid, developing services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, human trafficking and exploitation.
MacAlister said this showed she was a “lifelong advocate and champion for young girls who’ve been abused,” adding that she has “already shown that she’s properly engaging with the survivor community”.
There has also been support for the way the inquiry has been proceeding from survivors who are staying on the panel.
Samantha Walker-Roberts, from Oldham, wants the scope of the inquiry to include victims of other types of sexual abuse, so they are not “silenced”.
She was the victim of a grooming gang when she was 12 – but she was also raped and abused by a man who groomed her online, and as a younger child she was raped and abused by older men who she met through friends.
On Wednesday, former Northern Irish police chief Jim Gamble ruled himself out of chairing the inquiry, saying victims and survivors needed a chair they could all trust and, while the “majority” of those on the panel supported him, it was “clear that a lack of confidence due to my previous occupation exists among some”.
Mr Gamble, a child abuse expert who headed up the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) police command, said he had “hoped that my track record of fierce independence” would have “enabled me to proceed and hold the organisations and individuals who failed these young people to account”.
But he said a focus on political “point-scoring” had created a “highly charged and toxic environment” within the inquiry.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Mr Gamble said the source of some of this toxicity was social media, where people were “stirring the pot” from a distance.
He told the programme that he had confidence in Phillips, saying: “Has she got everything right? I don’t think so, but none of us have.”
He also said he had seen no evidence of efforts to dilute the terms of reference for the inquiry or widen its scope.
“At no time did I get the impression that they wanted to shy away from the necessary focus to understand why race, ethnicity and culture is part of the problem with particular gangs.”
Mr Gamble was one of two candidates to chair the inquiry who had been identified. The other, Annie Hudson – who has a background in social work – also withdrew this week.
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