A leading cabinet minister in the UK’s Labour government outraged survivors at the weekend following a radio appearance, with some calling for her to resign. Still smarting from her party’s trouncing in local elections, Lucy Powell shocked listeners to BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions show on Friday, May 2nd, when she dismissed the problem when responding to Tim Montgomerie of Reform UK.
Public service broadcaster Channel 4 showed a recent (actual) documentary Groomed: A National Scandal, drawing on the testimony of five young white women who, as girls, had been repeatedly raped and assaulted by different gangs of Pakistani-heritage men in England.
Against the backdrop of Labour hectoring that everyone should watch the Netflix drama Adolescence, Labour’s Powell was asked if she’d watched Groomed.
The MP for Manchester Central replied:
“Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Yeah, OK, let’s get that dog whistle out.”
Montgomerie’s initial observation was that “So many people in local government, in the authorities … for good reason, were worried about upsetting community tensions … those girls went undefended.” Powell’s comments have been taken as demonstrating the government’s underlying attitude.
Greater Manchester rape gang survivor Scarlett and her father Marlon led the criticism of the minister:
Scarlett and I, who shared our story in the documentary despite the emotional challenges, are outraged by Lucy Powell …. We feel abused and disrespected once again, and we did not anticipate this kind of treatment from our government leaders.”
