Rape survivors last night slammed a Labour Cabinet minister who described grooming gangs as a ‘dog whistle’ issue.
Commons Leader Lucy Powell is under pressure to resign amid criticism that she ‘belittled’ victims.
Sarah Wilson, a victim of the Rotherham scandal, said Ms Powell’s comments showed what survivors have been ‘up against all these years’ and why they have not been ‘listened to – they never cared and never will’.
She wrote: ‘Totally dismissed survivors and our experiences of [being] groomed. I was an 11-year-old little girl been raped and trafficked all across England… trying to blow the ‘dogs’ whistle and be saved but instead they chucked us to the dogs and left us to be tortured.’
At least 1,400 children were subjected to sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Marlon West, the father of a grooming gang victim, told GB News yesterday: ‘I think the mask has slipped now of what the general opinion is of Labour MPs.
‘I’ve been overwhelmed by other survivors contacting me, and we’re appalled – she should resign. The Labour Party should at least suspend her and do a full investigation.’
The outburst happened during a live debate on Radio 4 on Friday when Ms Powell was asked by Reform UK member Tim Montgomerie if she had seen a documentary on grooming gangs.
Commons Leader Lucy Powell is under pressure to resign amid criticism that she ‘belittled’ victims
Marlon West, the father of a grooming gang victim, told GB News yesterday: ‘I think the mask has slipped now of what the general opinion is of Labour MPs’. The outburst happened during a live debate on Radio 4 on Friday when Ms Powell was asked by Reform UK member Tim Montgomerie (pictured) if she had seen a documentary on grooming gangs
Sarah Wilson (pictured), a victim of the Rotherham scandal, said Ms Powell’s comments showed what survivors have been ‘up against all these years’ and why they have not been ‘listened to – they never cared and never will’
She replied: ‘Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now do we… let’s get that dog whistle out shall we’.
‘Dog whistle’ statements refers to the practice of sending out coded political messages – often on controversial subjects – designed to be understood only by a narrow target audience.
Nigel Huddleston, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said Ms Powell’s comments were ‘completely inappropriate’.
Yesterday Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Ms Powell was ‘mortified’ about her comments and was ‘right’ to apologise.
He added the Government took the issue of child sexual exploitation ‘extremely seriously’ and was ‘making real changes that will help to support victims’.
The issue of grooming – including by gangs of Pakistani origin – has been put back into the spotlight after Labour denied a request for a new Whitehall-led inquiry.
The Government instead ordered locally-led probes, although Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered a ‘rapid audit’ into the scale of the issue.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said it was ‘shameful that the Prime Minister is apparently standing by’ her.
Lucy Powell claimed that she was ‘challenging the political point scoring around’ grooming gangs, not the issue itself
‘If Lucy Powell won’t resign, Keir Starmer should fire her if he is serious about this issue,’ he said.
‘Wes Streeting saying this was just a ‘slip of the tongue’ this morning is an unacceptable excuse – especially given Labour’s refusal to hold a proper national inquiry and Starmer’s ‘far-Right bandwagon’ smear in January.’
Ms Powell posted on X on Saturday: ‘In the heat of a discussion on AQ (Any Questions), I would like to clarify that I regard issues of child exploitation & grooming with the utmost seriousness.
‘I’m sorry if this was unclear. I was challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself.
‘As a constituency MP I’ve dealt with horrendous cases. [The Government] is acting to get to the truth, and deliver justice.’
