After two victims quit a liaison panel for the grooming gang inquiry on Monday, saying that officials were pushing to downplay the background of (predominantly Pakistani heritage) perpetrators, the government refused to say on Tuesday whether there were any victims left on the advice panel at all. That, of course, suggests there aren’t.
Other areas of the probe are suffering departures too. For example, social worker Annie Hudson withdrew from the running to become the inquiry’s chairman on Tuesday, reportedly because of “recent media coverage.” Hence the Mail’s claim on Wednesday that the inquiry is in “chaos.”
But rather than face up to this reality, the government appears to be focussed on attempting to undermine the claims of the disgruntled victims—like that will help to dismiss those declaring a cover-up!
Home Office Minister Jess Phillips said on Tuesday that “allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope and dilution are false,” and effectively accused the victims who quit the inquiry panel of “misinformation.”
This prompted one of these victims—that is, Fiona Goddard, who was groomed by a gang as a teenager, and this week said “we have repeatedly faced suggestions from officials to expand this inquiry”—to call on Phillips to “resign.”
Today she publicly called me a liar to the whole nation when she knew I wasn’t lying.
I’m a grooming gang survivor who has been called a liar her whole life by public services and councils to try and cover up the horrendous abuse they let happen to me as a child.
She has now just done the same as they did to me for years, all to save her own skin.
Jess phillips should resign Today she publicly called me a liar to the whole nation when she knew i wasnt lying. Im a grooming gang survivor who has been called a liar her whole life by public services and councils to try and cover up the horrendous abuse they let happen to me as…
Other government officials have, of course, backed Phillips in all of this, stressing that the inquiry is “a huge priority for the government.” Righto.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
