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keir starmer standing nearby Jess PhillipsHis embattled security minister, despite one of the women who gave up her role in the national grooming gang inquiry and threatened to sue him.
lawyers acting on behalf of Fiona Goddard On Friday Ms Phillips was issued a warning in a letter over comments made about her client and two other victims, who left a panel investigating grooming gangs.
The group has already called on Ms Phillips to resign, claiming she accused her of lying in a letter to Dame Karen Bradley, chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, in which she denied the government was “trying to narrow the focus of the inquiry”.
Ms Goddard’s lawyer Svitalskis said the suggestion of a reduction was “not patently untrue” and that Ms Phillips’ letter was “outrageous” because it showed his client was being untruthful.
She also referred to a text message conversation in which Ms Goddard expressed concerns with Ms Phillips about an item on the agenda of a meeting with survivors, asking whether the investigation should take a “broader approach” than an explicit focus on “grooming gangs”.
He said Ms Phillips had replied: “I know it’s hard to believe, but I can promise you that no one is trying to manipulate the response, and my view is that this is simply the work of a group.” [sic] Specific enquiry, but it is not right for me to make this decision without formally consulting.
Ms Goddard said Ms Phillips’s statement resulted in her being subjected to “online abuse and stigmatisation”.
The solicitors concluded: “Ms Goddard will accept a written apology from Ms Phillips to bring this matter to an end.”
Ms Phillips said her concerns over allegedly widening the scope of the investigation and narrowing it down were “false”.
The planned inquiry has been thrown into chaos this week, with the last candidate to head it – Jim Gamble, a child abuse expert who used to lead the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) police command – withdrawing his name due to the public anger around it and opposition from victims to his appointment.
However, Downing Street has pointed to a statement made by the Prime Minister this week, where he gave a vote of confidence to Ms Phillips to remain the responsible minister.
Before this, she was the only member of her original team of Home Office ministers to survive a reshuffle despite being under intense pressure to be sacked due to her initial reluctance to investigate grooming gangs.
On Wednesday, when Tory leader Kemi Badenoch cited survivors’ demands that Ms Phillips resign or be sacked, Sir Keir replied: “I respect the views of all survivors, and there are different views – I accept that – but I think the Minister for Security has probably more experience than anyone else in this House in dealing with violence against women and girls, and with her Louise Casey would also be there.
“Both of these men have spent decades standing up for people who have been abused and sexually exploited, and I absolutely think they are the right people to take this forward.”
He also stressed that the investigation will not be weakened. He told MPs that victims who have resigned from the panel are welcome to return at any time.
He said: “I accept that in recent days some members, including Fiona, have decided to step away from the panel. Should they wish to return, the door will always be open, but even if they do not, we owe it to them, to Fiona and to the country to respond to the concerns they have raised.”
“The investigation will not and will never be scaled down; its scope will not change, it will examine the ethnicity and religion of the perpetrators, and we will find the right person to head it.”
Meanwhile, Ms Phillips’ fellow Birmingham MP Preet Kaur Gill, a former social worker who worked in child protection before being elected in 2017, has also waded into the controversy, warning against widening the scope of the investigation.
He said: “While child sexual exploitation in all its forms demands urgent attention, Casey’s audit was clear that this particular form of organised, group-based exploitation highlights unique institutional failings that have not been addressed through previous investigations.
“Expanding the scope risks losing the focus that Casey has rightly identified.
“Systems need to be held accountable for their role in allowing organized grooming and exploitation to continue despite repeated warnings.”