Grooming gangs Minister Jess Phillips branded ‘full shame’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Home Office Minister Jess Phillips has been branded “a complete disgrace” and informed she should resign over her dealing with of the grooming gangs inquiry. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss claimed Ms Phillips had “appeased Islamists”. And Ms Truss claimed native councils, the police and the Home Office should take among the blame for failing to cease the horrific abuse of ladies.

She spoke out after 4 ladies give up the official grooming inquiry’s victims and survivors panel amid claims the Government is attempting to “dilute the focus” of the inquiry by widening its scope.

The former Prime Minister identified that Ms Truss confronted a risk from unbiased candidates in her Birmingham Yardley constituency. In the 2024 basic election Ms Phillips’ majority was re-elected with a majority of simply 693 with a candidate from the Workers Party of Britain, led by George Galloway, coming second. The Workers Party highlighted the battle in Gaza as a key subject and 4 unbiased candidates who ran related campaigns succeeded in unseating Labour MPs in different components of the nation.

Ms Truss stated: “Jess Phillips is a complete disgrace.

“She has appeased Islamists, essentially for her own political reasons. We can see that in her Birmingham constituency.

“And she has also lost he trust of the victims of the grooming gangs.

“She has said some absolutely terrible things. Of course she should go.”

But Ms Truss added: “She’s not the only problem. It’s clear that local authorities, the police, possibly the Home Office were complicit in what happened.

“And that is why … I don’t think it’s just the Labour party. I do think they are beholden to the votes of people pushing the Islamist agenda, I think that is a big problem, but I don’t think it’s just them. I think it’s the state itself who have covered it up. it’s absolutely horrendous.”

A nationwide inquiry into the sexual exploitation of kids by grooming gangs was introduced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June. It was to be guided by a panel of round 20 abuse survivors however 5 of those have give up, citing considerations in regards to the inquiry being widened past grooming gangs, controls on who they’ll converse to, and potential inquiry chairs having hyperlinks to the police and social providers.

Four of the ladies who give up have stated they’d be ready to return if safeguarding minister Ms Phillips resigns, whereas 5 of these nonetheless on the advisory panel have stated they’d solely keep if she stays in submit.

Sir Keir has backed Ms Phillips. He stated final week: “The most important thing in relation to the grooming gangs is that we have the national inquiry and that absolutely gets to the truth and to justice.”

Asked if he has religion within the minister, the Prime Minister informed BBC South East: “Yes, of course, I do.

“Jess has been working on issues involving violence against women and girls for many, many years.”

Meanwhile, the Government has admitted it may take “months” to discover a chair for inquiry, with no candidates at the moment within the operating after former police officer Jim Gamble and Annie Hudson, a former director of kids’s providers for Lambeth, each withdrew.