Fiona Goddard’s resignation from the grooming gangs’ inquiry liaison panel should be a wakeup call for this Labour Government – especially as Fiona was followed just hours later by fellow-survivor Ellie-Ann Reynolds. Ellie-Ann resigned saying she cannot support the government’s attempts to downplay the fact that the majority of perpetrators were of Pakistani origin. The government seem intent on perpetuating the very cover-up which they are supposed to be investigating.
Let’s not forget that the government initially refused to have an inquiry at all – and then when they were forced to, they have dragged their feet for months. The truth is that we cannot wait any longer for the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs to be set up. Today, I am calling on the Government to restructure their inquiry immediately to ensure it is independent, credible, and led by a senior judge.
Let us first remember that victims are at the heart of this: young girls, and some boys, some only 10 years old, were groomed and gang raped by men of predominantly Pakistani origin. They were girls like Jane, who was just 12 years old when she was raped by an illegal immigrant, but when she was found by police, instead of arresting the rapist, the police arrested Jane.
Or like Anna, only 15 years old, who repeatedly told social workers that she had been gang raped. Instead of helping Anna, the social workers allowed her to marry her main abuser in an Islamic ceremony. They even attended the ceremony.
These crimes were deliberately covered up by people in authority because “community relations” were seen as more important than protecting young girls. That is a disgrace.
These two stories alone show the lengths institutions such as social services and the police went to cover up these appalling crimes, letting down thousands of victims they were supposed to protect.
This is why the two leading candidates, an ex-police officer and a social worker, are completely inappropriate choices. How can survivors trust ex police and social workers when these two institutions were at the heart of the cover up?
We need a judge to lead the inquiry. A judge will be impartial and get to the bottom of these disgusting crimes and the cover up by authorities.
Victims and survivors have been betrayed over and over again. First by the authorities who ignored them, and now by a Labour Government that’s watering down its own inquiry before it’s even begun.
Survivors will never get justice from the same institutions that failed them before.
I have serious concerns over the way the inquiry’s panel is being conducted. In her letter, Fiona correctly points out that this inquiry was always supposed to be focused on grooming gangs and the cover up by authorities due to the perpetrators being of mainly Pakistani heritage. If the Labour Government try to move the focus away from grooming gangs, they will be facilitating a cover up.
From the very beginning, the Labour Government have been hiding the details about this liaison panel. Fiona has bravely taken a stand to call out the ‘secretive conduct and conditions imposed on survivors.’ The Labour Government must come clean about the allegations of political interference and conflicts of interests.
We must also remember the Labour Government promised an inquiry into the grooming gangs in Oldham back in January. Survivors from Oldham have contacted my office worried about the fact that they have heard virtually nothing about the local inquiry since then. This is shameful.
The truth is the Labour Government never wanted the inquiry into grooming gangs to begin with. They had to be dragged kicking and screaming into holding it.
When the Labour Government’s rejection of Oldham’s call for a national inquiry became public in January, the Prime Minister disgracefully smeared as “far-right” those supporting calls for that proper inquiry. That kind of language is how these crimes got covered up in the first place.
Now they are delaying and diluting both the local and national inquiries. It is clear that in some parts of the country, those in positions of power do not want to get to the truth. Months ago, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, pretended to not know what a “grooming gang” was. Now it has been revealed that he read reports of young girls being raped by groups of men while publicly denying there were grooming gangs operating in London.
This leaves the mayor with serious questions to answer. Why did he refuse to answer these questions if he knew grooming gangs were operating in London? It is clear Sadiq Khan is facilitating a cover up.
We understand setting up an inquiry takes time. But the Labour Government do not seem to be treating this issue with the urgency it deserves.
They could take action now to get justice for the victims. They could start forcing Pakistan to take back the grooming gang perpetrators who are eligible for deportation. The Government could stop issuing visas to Pakistan and they could suspend all foreign aid until these disgusting rapists are deported. Why won’t they?
All we have seen from the Labour Government so far is dither and delay. It is shameful that almost no progress has been made since the start of the year.
The Government must urgently launch the inquiry as a full, statutory, judge-led investigation with the power, to deliver justice for every survivor and hold every official who enabled these crimes to account.
Originally published on 21st October 2025 in The Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/21/labour-grooming-gangs-inquiry-questions/
