A group of four abuse survivors are demanding Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips resign in a list of conditions for them to re-join the grooming gangs inquiry.
The four women have accused Phillips of “betrayal” over a letter where she described reports the scope of the inquiry could be expanded as “untrue”.
They also called for their victim liaison officer to go and, along with Phillips’ exit, said this would mean the government was “serious about accountability”, as well as continuing to call for a judge to chair the inquiry.
Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister has said Phillips has the “full backing of the prime minister and home secretary” and will not be asked to go.
The national inquiry into the sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs in England and Wales was announced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June.
The PM said the inquiry would have the power to compel witnesses to be questioned and would be guided by a panel of survivors, which the BBC understands had at least 20 members at the start.
There has been turmoil over the past week, with Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds quitting the survivors panel in the inquiry on Monday, and two more known as “Elizabeth” and “Jess” following them on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
They all wrote open letters citing similar concerns, around the inquiry being widened beyond grooming gangs, tight controls on what they could say and who they could speak to, and potential inquiry chairs having links to policing and social care, alongside expertise in tackling child abuse.
Phillips published a letter on Tuesday warning there was “misinformation” swirling around the inquiry and seeking to “set the record straight”, saying that taking four months to appoint a chair was not unusual for large public inquiries and was not evidence of a “cover up”.
However, she also wrote that reports the government is “seeking to dilute the focus of the inquiry were “untrue” and she insisted that it would be “laser-focused” on grooming gangs.
This appears have sparked anger among the four survivors, who write in their letter to the home secretary that they had “raised legitimate concerns around the inquiry’s direction” but “in response, your safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips called our accounts untrue”.
They wrote: “Being publicly contradicted and dismissed by a government minister when you are a survivor telling the truth takes you right back to that feeling of not being believed all over again.
“It is a betrayal that destroyed what little trust remained.”
Speaking to Sky News, MacAlister confirmed there had been no change in support for Phillips, saying “Jess will stay in post”.
Before becoming an MP, Phillips worked for Women’s Aid, developing services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, human trafficking and exploitation.
MacAlister said this showed she was a “lifelong advocate and champion for young girls who’ve been abused,” adding that she has “already shown that she’s properly engaging with the survivor community”.
There has also been support for the way the inquiry has been proceeding from survivors who are staying on the panel.
Samantha Walker-Roberts, from Oldham, wants the scope of the inquiry to include victims of other types of sexual abuse, so they are not “silenced”.
She was the victim of a grooming gang when she was 12 – but she was also raped and abused by a man who groomed her online, and as a younger child she was raped and abused by older men who she met through friends.
Carly, from Huddersfield, who said she believes “the most effective way to drive meaningful change is from within” and remains “hopeful” the concerns raised by others “will lead to constructive improvements”.
On Wednesday, former Northern Irish police chief Jim Gamble ruled himself out of chairing the inquiry, saying victims and survivors needed a chair they could all trust and, while the “majority” of those on the panel supported him, it was “clear that a lack of confidence due to my previous occupation exists among some”.
Mr Gamble, a child abuse expert who headed up the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) police command, said he had “hoped that my track record of fierce independence” would have “enabled me to proceed and hold the organisations and individuals who failed these young people to account”.
But he said a focus on political “point-scoring” had created a “highly charged and toxic environment” within the inquiry.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Mr Gamble said the source of some of this toxicity was social media, where people were “stirring the pot” from a distance.
He told the programme that he had confidence in Phillips, saying: “Has she got everything right? I don’t think so, but none of us have.”
He also said he had seen no evidence of efforts to dilute the terms of reference for the inquiry or widen its scope.
“At no time did I get the impression that they wanted to shy away from the necessary focus to understand why race, ethnicity and culture is part of the problem with particular gangs.”
Mr Gamble was one of two candidates to chair the inquiry who had been identified. The other, Annie Hudson – who has a background in social work – also withdrew this week.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch joined calls for Phillips to be sacked, saying the inquiry is about “Labour failure”.
She said: “Labour never wanted this inquiry, we demanded it… It is Labour ministers attacking the victims. We’re standing up for them.”
The prime minister defended Phillips, saying she “has probably more experience than any other person in this House in dealing with violence against women and girls”.
He said “survivors have been ignored for many years” by the state and invited those that have quit the inquiry to re-join. He added that, whether they did or not, “we owe it to them” to answer their concerns.
“The inquiry is not and will never be watered down. Its scope will not change. It will examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders and we will find the right person to chair the inquiry,” he told MPs.
The prime minister also announced Baroness Casey was being drafted in to support the work of the inquiry.
Baroness Casey previously led a “national audit” of group-based child sexual exploitation that found the ethnicity of people involved in grooming gangs had been “shied away from” by authorities.
Her findings, published in June 2025, prompted Sir Keir to order the creation of the national inquiry.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson highlighted that politicians had failed victims for many years, with the Conservatives failing to launch a full national inquiry whilst in power.
“This cannot continue to be a political football,” he said. “Victims and survivors aren’t interested in that game.”
Accusing Labour of “dragging its feet” on the inquiry, Wilkinson added: “It’s time for this Government to pull its finger out and get this inquiry off the ground before trust is further undermined.”
