1 week ago
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Five survivors invited on to the child sexual exploitation inquiry panel have written to Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood to say they will continue working with the investigation only if the safeguarding minister Jess Phillips remains in post.
The women have contacted the prime minister and the home secretary outlining a range of conditions for their continued participation. They say Phillips has “devoted her life to hearing and amplifying the voices of women and girls who would have otherwise been unheard”.
One of the group, Samantha Walker-Roberts, who was abused in Oldham from the age of 12, has chosen to waive her right to anonymity. The other five have used pseudonyms and call themselves “Scarlett”, “Caitlin”, “Claire” and “Katie”.
The women say they want the inquiry to cover all types of sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs, and that “anyone who believes their evidence should be included” should have the chance to participate.
They say they believe Phillips has “remained impartial” and they want her to “remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency”.
They say: “She has offered some of us support prior to this process, helped survivors access services and help they would not have had without her. In consultation, we have asked for the scope to be larger than just grooming gangs, that was our right to input our opinions, which is the purpose of the panel.
“When asked directly in the feedback session, Jess was clear that the focus would be on grooming gangs, however survivors in the group explained that they would be excluded for not fitting the generalised stereotype of what that is and should focus on CSE [child sexual exploitation].”
This week, four other members of the panel resigned, saying they felt the government was manipulating them to expand the scope of the inquiry to include other forms of abuse and exploitation. They said on Wednesday they would return only if Phillips resigned from government and the inquiry was chaired by a leading lawyer.
The two frontrunners to chair the investigation: former police officer Jim Gamble and social worker Annie Hudson, withdrew their candidacies. Gamble, a former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection command, said he was withdrawing due to a “lack of confidence” in him among some survivors due to his previous occupation.
The five survivors who have chosen to back Phillips say “leaks” to the media about private discussions undertaken by the panel have left some feeling “afraid and silenced”. They said there should be consequences going forward for those who breached confidentiality.
They added that the panel should be streamlined, but include “a range of voices to ensure everyone can be heard in a respectful way” in a bid to “find a solution that takes all views into account and serves everyone that has been a victim of CSE and their families”. They also want a clear structure when it comes to interviewing a potential chair, so “everyone has the chance to ask questions they feel are relevant in an environment where everyone’s voice is heard and important”.
They added: “These sessions should be held in person, to avoid any breaches of confidentiality to protect other survivors’ voices.”
The women said there should be “no re-entry” for those who have “forfeited” their position on the panel and for an independent whistleblowing procedure to be set up and urged everyone involved to display “respect and compassion”.
They added: “When we agreed to join this panel, it was to inform the process, to make sure survivors’ voices were considered when making decisions around the investigation and accountability for past failures, but also to support the process to build a robust inquiry where children in the future would be protected by recommendations and outcomes from the evidence of failings discovered in the inquiry.
“As survivors and campaigners, we live every day with the desperation to want things to change, not just for ourselves, but our families and future generations.
“The lack of respect for the confidentiality agreement has meant that many survivors feel silenced, and afraid to speak out or have an opposing view, the fear of targeting, doxing or worse. But we do have opposing views to other survivors – there is no right or wrong answer.
“We have all been failed in the past, which is why some of us campaigned for this inquiry. It would be another catastrophic failing if the inquiry was to go ahead without including us, we will not be included in an inquiry process that isn’t fit to serve any victim or survivor who believes they have evidence to submit to the inquiry.
“This must be the point where survivors work together for the future, we all deserve justice and accountability, this cannot and should not be about anything other than survivors working together, with respect and trust. The longer this is delayed for, more children will be trapped in exploitation, which could have been prevented if the process was able to continue.”
