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Three victims of child grooming have quit the panel of Keir Starmer’s new inquiry into it, in protest at the poor way it is being run. Won’t this harm the validity of its findings?
Here‘s the BBC:
“Elizabeth” – not her real name – joined Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds, who quit the inquiry’s victims and survivors liaison panel on Monday in protest.
Elizabeth, who is from Rotherham, said she felt the process had been “scripted and predetermined”, “rather than emerging from honest, open dialogue with survivors”.
“This sense of control and stage-management has left many of us questioning whether our voices truly matter, or whether we are being used to legitimise decisions that have already been made,” she added.
Ms Goddard and Ms Reynolds had raised concerns about the suitability of the candidates shortlisted to chair the inquiry, arguing they should not have a background in policing or social work.
Ms Goddard, who was abused by gangs while living in a Bradford children’s home, said these services had “contributed most to the cover-up of the national mass rape and trafficking of children”.
Meanwhile, Ms Reynolds suggested having “establishment insiders representing the very systems that failed us” as potential chairs was a conflict of interest.
The three women have accused officials are trying to water down the inquiry by widening the scope beyond grooming gangs into broader issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
If two of the inquiry’s most prominent victims’ representatives — Fiona Goddard and Ellie-Ann Reynolds — have both walked out claiming the process is being “watered down” and turned into “a cover-up” – and now a third has called it “scripted and predetermined” – then the public and survivors will inevitably question whether the government’s investigation is truly independent.
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Their resignations expose two major flaws:
A conflict of interest at the top – both shortlisted chairs reportedly come from policing and social services, the very institutions accused of enabling and covering up the abuse.
Ms Goddard described this as a “disturbing conflict of interest”, and it’s hard to see how victims could have confidence in a process led by people from those backgrounds.
A loss of focus – both Ms Goddard and Ms Reynolds said officials were trying to widen the inquiry’s scope beyond grooming gangs into broader child sexual exploitation.
That would make it easier to blur or downplay the racial and institutional factors central to their cases — the issues the inquiry was supposed to confront.
Government minister Jess Phillips’ insistence that the inquiry will remain “laser-focused” will carry little weight if survivors no longer trust her government to listen to them.
Inquiries like this depend entirely on credibility.
Survivors must believe it is truly for them — not for the establishment that failed them.
When their own representatives are resigning in protest and accusing ministers of obfuscation, the inquiry’s findings — even if sound — risk being dismissed as another exercise in official self-protection.
Keir Starmer’s government promised a “national reckoning”. Instead, it is now fronting an inquiry that looks compromised before it has even begun.
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Survivors walk out as Starmer’s grooming inquiry faces accusations of cover-up
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Here‘s the BBC:
If two of the inquiry’s most prominent victims’ representatives — Fiona Goddard and Ellie-Ann Reynolds — have both walked out claiming the process is being “watered down” and turned into “a cover-up” – and now a third has called it “scripted and predetermined” – then the public and survivors will inevitably question whether the government’s investigation is truly independent.
Their resignations expose two major flaws:
A conflict of interest at the top – both shortlisted chairs reportedly come from policing and social services, the very institutions accused of enabling and covering up the abuse.
Ms Goddard described this as a “disturbing conflict of interest”, and it’s hard to see how victims could have confidence in a process led by people from those backgrounds.
A loss of focus – both Ms Goddard and Ms Reynolds said officials were trying to widen the inquiry’s scope beyond grooming gangs into broader child sexual exploitation.
That would make it easier to blur or downplay the racial and institutional factors central to their cases — the issues the inquiry was supposed to confront.
Government minister Jess Phillips’ insistence that the inquiry will remain “laser-focused” will carry little weight if survivors no longer trust her government to listen to them.
Inquiries like this depend entirely on credibility.
Survivors must believe it is truly for them — not for the establishment that failed them.
When their own representatives are resigning in protest and accusing ministers of obfuscation, the inquiry’s findings — even if sound — risk being dismissed as another exercise in official self-protection.
Keir Starmer’s government promised a “national reckoning”. Instead, it is now fronting an inquiry that looks compromised before it has even begun.
Support Vox Political!
With social media algorithms acting as gatekeepers – allowing users to read only what their owners want them to, sites like Vox Political need the support of our readers like never before.
You can help by making a donation:
https://Ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
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