Two abuse survivors resign from grooming gang panel

Two abuse survivors have resigned from their role in the national inquiry into grooming gangs, the government has confirmed.

Fiona Goddard, who was abused by gangs while living in a Bradford children’s home, quit the victims’ liaison panel over concerns about the inquiry’s shortlisted chairs, one of whom is reportedly a former police chief and the other a social worker.

On Monday, the Home Office confirmed Ellie-Ann Reynolds had also resigned, but denied her reported claims ministers would “shy away” from reporting racial or religious motives behind grooming gangs.

A Home Office spokesman said it was “committed to delivering a robust, thorough inquiry”.

Any suggestion the inquiry is “being watered down is completely wrong”, he said adding that the government would not shy away from stating “if cultural and religious backgrounds are drivers of grooming gangs”.

The Home Office said it will now be made a formal requirement for the police to collect the ethnicity data of perpetrators of group-based child exploitation and abuse.

“We are grateful to all those who have shared their insights with us,” the spokesperson added.

Government sources said it was “regrettable” that the two panel members had decided to step away from the process but stressed that “important engagement continues” with a range of victims and survivors to contribute to the inquiry process and the selection of a chair.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in the summer there would be a full national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs covering England and Wales, with Ms Goddard joining the panel overseeing the process.

But in a letter of resignation, she said another reason for leaving was the “condescending and controlling language used towards survivors”.

“This inquiry is supposed to be a public process and should have been conducted openly and transparently from the start,” she said.

“The dynamics of this inquiry, including potential chairs and progress, should have been conducted openly and honestly by the government, and survivors should have had the choice to voice their opinions if they decided to.”

Ms Goddard said instead, there was “secretive conduct” and “conditions imposed on survivors has led to a toxic, fearful environment”.

She said of the selection of the potential chairs: “One has a background in policing and the other, a social worker.

“The very two services that contributed most to the cover-up of the national mass rape and trafficking of children.”

She said it was a “disturbing conflict of interest”.

Ms Goddard also complained of “repeated” attempts by officials to expand the investigation beyond grooming gangs and into wider issues of child sexual abuse, which she said risked a “watered down” inquiry.

Backing her, shadow home secretary Chris Philp called for a senior judge to lead the inquiry to guarantee impartiality and restore faith in the process.

“Survivors will never get justice from the same institutions that failed them in the before,” he said.

“This inquiry must be led by a sitting or recently retired senior judge, not ex-police officers or social workers marking their own homework.

“Every official, police officer, and councillor who enabled these crimes must face prosecution for misconduct in public office.”

Solicitor Richard Scorer, who acts for grooming gang survivors around the country, said Ms Goddard was correct to flag the original, wider Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) as having inadequacies around grooming gangs.

He said the IICSA “ignored” areas like Oldham and Bradford “where the biggest scandals have occurred” and also had “almost no victim and survivor evidence” to counterbalance claims of improvement from police and social services.

“If the Home Office repeats that mistake by having another superficial inquiry, and trying to stage manage it, survivors will see through this,” he said.

“Only a proper, forensic investigation into past failings will be good enough.

“In addition local areas like Oldham need to be able to press ahead with their local inquiry, which can feed into the national one – the delay here is unacceptable”.

However, a Home Office spokeswoman denied the inquiry was being watered down and insisted victims and survivors remained “at the heart of the process”.

She said: “Any suggestion that this inquiry is being watered down is completely wrong – we are committed to delivering a robust, thorough inquiry that will get to the truth and provide the answers that survivors have so long campaigned for.”

Downing Street added the government was working “flat out to get the right chair in place”, but declined to give “running commentary” on the process.

Asked about Ms Goddard’s resignation on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We’re grateful to everyone who shared their insights with us.

“I’m sure you’ll understand our concerns about speculation. We’re still going through this process, that’s why we’re not going to give a running commentary on it.

“But the abuse of children by grooming gangs, as we’ve said before, is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable.”

Ms Goddard was one of two girls who were abused in 2008 while they lived at a children’s home.

The abuse came to light in 2014, when she saw a report on the grooming and the sexual abuse of hundreds of young girls in Rotherham, and contacted the BBC.

She gave evidence at a trial in 2019 which led to nine men who abused her as a child being jailed.

The nine were convicted of 22 offences including rape and inciting child prostitution and Ms Goddard waived her right to anonymity to speak to the press.