Who on Earth will want to take on grooming inquiry now?

It’s a mess. And this is extraordinarily difficult.

To give you an idea, one of the candidates who gave up on chairing the grooming gangs investigation is Jim Gamble.

Gamble’s career continues as follows: He worked as a police officer in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He then worked for years to protect children from exploitation.

To put it mildly, the roles are not for the faint of heart either. However, even he did not want to lead this investigation.

So who would want to do this?

There is a grudging acceptance in the government that it would take a long time to find someone willing to do this, and that he would be universally accepted among the victims as the right person for the job.

It’s no wonder, then, that those in government have announced they are prepared to spend months finding the right person to do it.

The best they can probably hope for is one that is enthusiastically supported by some and tolerated by others.

“There is no such thing as clear skin. Anyone with the necessary expertise and influence is likely to come with what some will perceive as baggage,” a Whitehall source told me.

Personnel problems do not end there.

There has been a debate over the last few days about whether Conservation Minister Jess Phillips should remain in her job; after some of the victims involved in launching the investigation said he should be replaced.

When we first broke this news, I was reminded of something that reporters like me should always keep in mind. Journalists inevitably gravitate towards outspoken individuals who make headlines.

Rightly so, choosing to be outspoken, to publicly air deeply expressed concerns, is often a brave and noble act. But reporters should not forget those who choose to remain silent.

The vast majority of the 30 victims who attended the panel consulted in preparing the inquiry have not spoken publicly.

Many sources in the government make clear that there is a widespread determination, from Number 10 to the Home Office, to keep Phillips in office.

The latest development is that five other survivors of harassment wrote to the prime minister and said that they would continue the investigation only if Phillips continues his job.

This is another impossible predicament the government finds itself in.

The basic truth here is that victims of sexual abuse have been repeatedly and deeply failed by many institutions of the state over years and even decades.

It’s little wonder that trust is incredibly difficult to build, let alone maintain.

A senior government official put it to me: “Sad and vulnerable people lash out when they’re in pain, and that’s completely understandable.”

Panel members, I’m told, have a variety of opinions and instincts: whether they’re willing to talk, their views on those who choose to do so or those who don’t, who should lead the investigation, how the investigation should be conducted, and about Jess Phillips.

Establishing this investigation, let alone conducting it, and then implementing its conclusions and recommendations is already becoming a huge headache.