Five grooming gang survivors back Jess Phillips to stay in charge
Five survivors of abuse have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying they will continue working on the grooming ring investigation only if Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips remains in her job.
This came after four different members of the survivors panel dropped out of the investigation and said they would only rejoin if Phillips resigned.
The survivors panel, thought to include around 16 women, is playing a central role in launching the national inquiry into the gangs.
But they disagree on whether that law should be expanded to cover other types of child sexual abuse and whether they can trust Phillips to lead the process of establishing it. The Prime Minister has repeatedly supported the minister.
The second group of survivors, led by Samantha Walker-Roberts, wrote to Sir Keir and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood with a list of seven conditions for their continued support.
“Jess Phillips remained neutral throughout the process, only listening to feedback [and] “We want it to remain in place throughout the process for consistency,” they wrote.
“Previous experience and effort to reduce VAWG [violence against women and girls] and his clear passion and commitment are important to us.”
They praised Phillips, who they said “dedicated her life to hearing and amplifying the voices of women and girls who normally go unheard” and helped some access support.
Earlier today, the first group called on Phillips to resign to restore confidence in the investigation and accused him of “treason” for revealing reports that the scope of the investigation could be expanded as “untrue”.
The group of four, chaired by Fiona Goddard, said they would only rejoin if the minister left because they had “expressed legitimate concerns about the course of the investigation” but “in response, your conservation minister, Jess Phillips, has said our calculations are not accurate”.
Another survivor, known as Carly from Huddersfield, told the BBC she wanted to remain part of the investigation but also believed Phillips should go because “he can’t lie about things we all know” about whether the investigation will be expanded.
Disagreement among survivors The BBC’s understanding of whether the focus will be broadened can be traced back to an email sent to the panel by NWG, the charity tasked with organizing this on behalf of the government.
In that email, survivors were asked whether they wanted the investigation to remain focused on gang grooming or broaden its scope.
Ms. Walker-Roberts’ group of survivors stressed that this request did not come from Phillips.
“When asked directly in the feedback session, Jess was clear that her focus would be on grooming the gangs,” they wrote.
“But the survivors in the group explained that they would be excluded because they did not fit the generalized stereotype of what it was and [the inquiry] The focus should be on CSE (child sexual abuse).”
On how to reconcile the differences between the two groups of survivors, they suggested that “the panel should be smaller” and that there should be “no re-entry into the panel after losing your position.”
