FOUR grooming gang survivors say the “shambolic” government inquiry into their abuse feels like the “final insult”.
Ellie-Ann Reynolds, Fiona Goddard and another two survivors known as Elizabeth and Jessica all walked away from the inquiry in “disgust” this week — telling The Sun on Sunday they feel “stripped of their voices”.
Today they are calling for safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to stand down over her handling of the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs.
They also wanted Keir Starmer to apologise for the chaos — and had now each got a letter from him which fails to do so.
The courageous women, who suffered sickening sexual assaults from predominantly Asian men, have also told how their hopes for justice have been left “shattered” after being warned not to publicly discuss the inquiry.
The turmoil began on Monday when Ellie-Ann, 24, and Fiona, 32, said they would no longer sit on the survivors panel after it was revealed two shortlisted chairs for the inquiry were former police chief Jim Gamble and social worker Annie Hudson.
Read More on Grooming Gangs
Last night Ellie, as she is known, said she had been shocked to find “the very institutions that have deeply failed us in the past”, would potentially chair the inquiry.
Ellie was abused in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, from the age of 13 to 17 by a group of Asian males who plied her with drugs and gang-raped her.
She said: “I can’t sit on a panel with a background like that (the police and social services). We’re survivors, we’ve been through manipulation before.”
“I believe it was a set-up from the start and unfortunately they just thought the survivors would end up complicit in it, which is obviously not what’s happened.
“We’ve been stripped of our voices to suit a narrative — the narrative being that they wanted to sweep this under the carpet and make it look like the country doesn’t have a grooming gang problem or a rape-gang problem that is made up of predominantly Muslim men.
“We’ve been silenced so people higher up can maintain comfortability. And that’s not okay.”
And she added: “I want to see Jess Phillips resign over this.”
All four women said they had concerns about the inquiry’s remit being broadened to general child sexual abuse — beyond that perpetrated by chiefly Pakistani-heritage grooming gangs.
Phillips told MPs “allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope or dilution are false”.
But The Sun on Sunday has seen documents asking about “taking a broader approach” than just grooming gangs.
Ellie said: “We should be able to say what ethnicity our abusers are without feeling uncomfortable. I think the problem is many institutions and authorities are trying to widen the scope and make ethnicity uncomfortable.
“They need to know the ethnicity of the abusers because we’re going to start seeing behaviour patterns.
“I want the inquiry to be successful but it needs to be uncomfortable — that’s how we’re going to tackle the problem.
“I doubt that we’re ever going to get a public apology and to be fair I probably wouldn’t wipe my backside with an apology coming from Keir Starmer.”
Fiona Goddard — groomed and abused by more than 50 Asian men in Bradford as a teen — accused the Government of peddling “lie after lie”.
And her solicitor has also sent Phillips a letter claiming defamation for portraying Fiona’s comments about the inquiry scope being expanded as a lie.
Fiona said: “What Jess Phillips said about me has started a barrage of people online attacking me.
We’ve been stripped of our voices to suit a narrative — they wanted to sweep this under the carpet and make it look like the country doesn’t have a grooming gang problem or a rape-gang problem that is made up of predominantly Muslim men
Ellie
“Jess claims the inquiry is independent of the Home Office, that she had no idea who was on the panel and no knowledge of the scope being expanded.
“This is not true, I have copies of my text messages with her.
“They asked us, ‘Should this be a grooming gang inquiry or should this take a broader approach’.
After speaking to Fiona, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told MPs that Fiona said being dismissed and contradicted by a minister had brought back the feeling of not being believed.
A third survivor, Elizabeth, 38, said: “It had become toxic.
“I felt the survivors would end up silenced and, if I stayed, I would become complicit, so I decided to walk away.”
She was groomed in Rotherham at 14 and raped and abused for four years.
She said of Phillips: “I don’t think she should be involved. She wrote us off as liars.”
A fourth survivor, Jessica, was raped by more than 50 men from age 12 in Kirklees, West Yorks, from 2003.
We should be able to say what ethnicity our abusers are without feeling uncomfortable. I think the problem is many institutions and authorities are trying to widen the scope and make ethnicity uncomfortable
Ellie
She said: “When I saw it was a former police officer and former social worker on the panel I thought, ‘How can this even be happening?
“I’ve lost all trust in Jess Phillips. This inquiry should be survivor-led.”
However, five other survivors invited on to the panel say they will continue working with it — but only if Ms Phillips remains in place.
KEIR’S LETTER
SIR Keir Starmer finally responded to the survivors in a letter on Friday — but refused to apologise.
The PM offered his “personal commitment” to getting the probe right and said “the door will always be open” for them to return to the panel.
Last night, Fiona Goddard branded his response “disgusting”.
She said: “He was supposed to ring us to discuss this and instead he’s sent the exact same letter to all of us. I think it’s disgusting. It shows he does not think we’re important.”
Sir Keir wrote: “The heinous crimes committed against you — and many others — by violent and depraved gangs were truly appalling.
“We know in some areas these crimes were disproportionately committed by Asian men, and I assure you the inquiry will look explicitly at that. You were also let down catastrophically by the institutions that should have protected you, and they must be held accountable.”
He said “survivors must be at the heart of this inquiry” and added: “We do not underestimate the bravery you have shown by reliving these ordeals.”
