Two abuse survivors resign from grooming gang panel

Two abuse survivors have resigned from their roles in the national inquiry into gangs, the government has confirmed.

Fiona Goddard, who was abused by gangs while living in a children’s care home in Bradford, left the victims’ contact panel over concerns about the inquiry’s shortlisted chairmen; It was reported that one of these names was a former police chief and the other was a social worker.

On Monday the Home Office confirmed that Ellie-Ann Reynolds had also resigned, but rejected claims ministers would be “hesitant” to report racial or religious motivations behind gangs.

A Home Office spokesman said they were “committed to providing a robust and thorough investigation”.

He added that “any suggestion that the investigation has been watered down is completely false” and that the government would not hesitate to point out “whether cultural and religious backgrounds are a driver of grooming gangs”.

It will now be made a formal requirement for police to collect ethnicity data on perpetrators of group-based child abuse and exploitation, the Home Office said.

“We are grateful to everyone who shared their insights with us,” the spokesperson added.

Government sources said it was “regrettable” that two panel members had decided to withdraw from the process but stressed “significant engagement continues” with a number of victims and survivors to contribute to the inquiry process and seat selection.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the summer full national legal investigation It turned into grooming gangs spanning England and Wales, with Ms Goddard joining the panel overseeing the process.

But in his resignation letter, he said another reason for leaving was “the condescending and controlling language used towards survivors.”

“This investigation was supposed to be a public process and conducted in an open and transparent manner from the beginning,” he said.

“The dynamics of this investigation, including potential heads and progress, should have been conducted openly and honestly by the government, and survivors should have had the option to voice their opinions if they wished.”

Ms Goddard said instead there was “covert behaviour” and “the conditions imposed on survivors led to a toxic, fearful environment”.

On the selection of potential chairmen, he said: “One has a background in policing and the other is a social worker.

“The two services that contributed most to the national cover-up of mass rape and child trafficking.”

He said it was a “disturbing conflict of interest.”

Ms Goddard also complained about “repeated” attempts by authorities to broaden the investigation beyond gang grooming to wider issues around child sexual abuse, which she said risked a “watered-down” investigation.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary who backed him, called for a senior judge to lead the investigation to guarantee impartiality and restore faith in the process.

“Survivors will never receive justice from the institutions that have previously failed them,” he said.

“This investigation should be conducted by a sitting or recently retired senior judge, not former police officers or social workers preparing their own papers.

“Every official, police officer and councilor who enabled these crimes must face prosecution for abuse of public office.”

Richard Scorer, a barrister who works to rehabilitate gang victims across the country, said Ms Goddard was right to point out that the original, wider Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) contained deficiencies in gang rehab.

He said the IICSA had “ignored” areas such as Oldham and Bradford “where the biggest scandals have occurred” and also had “virtually no evidence of victims and survivors” to offset claims of improvement from the police and social services.

“If the Home Office repeats this mistake by conducting another superficial investigation and trying to manage the situation, the survivors will come to grips with it,” he said.

“Only a proper judicial investigation into past failures will do.

“And local areas such as Oldham need to be able to progress their local investigations which can feed into the national investigation – delay here is unacceptable.”

But a Home Office spokesman denied the investigation had been watered down and insisted victims and survivors remained “at the heart of the process”.

He said: “Any suggestion that this investigation has been watered down is completely false; we are committed to delivering a robust, comprehensive investigation that will get to the truth and provide the answers survivors have long fought for.”

Downing Street added that the government was “working hard to get the right chair in place” but refused to make “an ongoing comment” on the process.

Asked about Ms Goddard’s resignation on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We are grateful to everyone who has shared their insights with us.

“I’m sure you will understand our concerns about the speculation. We are still going through this process, so we will not be making a continuing comment on this matter.

“But the exploitation of children by grooming gangs is, as we have said, one of the most horrific crimes imaginable.”

Miss Goddard was one of two girls who were abused while living in a children’s home in 2008.

The abuse came to light in 2014 after she saw a report of the grooming and sexual abuse of hundreds of young girls in Rotherham and contacted the BBC.

He testified at a hearing in 2019, which Nine men who molested him during his childhood were imprisoned.

Nine people were convicted of 22 offenses including rape and soliciting child prostitution, and Ms Goddard waived her right to anonymity when speaking to the press.