{"id":39421,"date":"2025-10-22T03:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T03:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=39421"},"modified":"2025-10-22T03:00:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T03:00:16","slug":"c629zvnd5lnoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/10\/22\/c629zvnd5lnoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus of grooming inquiry &#8216;will not change&#8217;, home secretary insists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The focus of the national grooming gangs inquiry &#8220;will not change&#8221; or be &#8220;watered down&#8221;, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has insisted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Writing in the Times newspaper, Mahmood<b id=\"\" class=\"sc-d16436d-0 kPzeuB\"> <\/b>said the wait for the appointment of the inquiry&#8217;s chairperson will &#8220;not be much longer&#8221;, adding that the government &#8220;must get this right&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Her intervention comes after three abuse survivors quit their roles in the inquiry this week over fears that its scope could be widened<b id=\"\" class=\"sc-d16436d-0 kPzeuB\"> <\/b>beyond grooming gangs<b id=\"\" class=\"sc-d16436d-0 kPzeuB\"> <\/b>&#8211; and concerns about who would chair the inquiry. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">In her resignation letter, survivor &#8220;Elizabeth&#8221; &#8211; not her real name &#8211; said the process felt like &#8220;a cover-up&#8221; and had &#8220;created a toxic environment for survivors&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in June there would be a national inquiry into grooming gangs covering England and Wales, with a panel of survivors set up to oversee the process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But three abuse survivors have accused officials of trying to water down the inquiry by broadening its scope to wider issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">There is also<b id=\"\" class=\"sc-d16436d-0 kPzeuB\"> <\/b>frustration around the length of time it has taken to appoint a chairperson, with some seeing this as a delay tactic because of fears of what might be exposed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Survivors have raised concerns about the suitability of the candidates shortlisted to chair the inquiry &#8211; including Annie Hudson, a former senior social worker, and Jim Gamble, a former deputy chief constable.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Fiona Goddard, who was abused by gangs while living in a Bradford children&#8217;s home, said policing and social work services had &#8220;contributed most to the cover-up of the national mass rape and trafficking of children&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Another survivor, Ellie Reynolds, suggested having &#8220;establishment insiders representing the very systems that failed us&#8221; as potential chairs was a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Ms Reynolds, who was abused by a gang of Pakistani brothers in Barrow, told BBC Radio 4&#8217;s Woman&#8217;s Hour: &#8220;If they were that serious in appointing a chair that was actually going to succeed in this inquiry they would not have picked a police officer or a social worker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;It should have been a judge &#8211; it should have been somebody that was completely impartial and non-biased.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 jFVvLh\">Watch: Abuse survivor Ellie Reynolds says a judge should lead grooming gangs inquiry<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Ms Reynolds said the &#8220;final turning point&#8221; in her decision to quit was a move to widen the inquiry &#8220;in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Elizabeth said she had seen &#8220;selective narratives being promoted &#8211; ones that appear to serve particular agendas, especially around issues of race and the narrative of widening the scope&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">She told the BBC she had wanted a chair who was &#8220;legally&#8221; trained and &#8220;impartial&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Annie Hudson has withdrawn her candidacy for chair, the BBC has been told.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">In her article for the Times, Mahmood said it was with &#8220;a heavy heart&#8221; that she learned some members of the panel had stepped down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;Should they wish to return, the door will always remain open to them,&#8221; Mahmood wrote. &#8220;But even if they do not, I owe it to them \u2013 and the country \u2013 to answer some of the concerns that they have raised.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">She also said the inquiry will &#8220;explicitly examine the ethnicity and religion of offenders&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;I know that some are frustrated that they are still waiting for this inquiry to begin. I understand that frustration. And I feel it myself,&#8221; Mahmood added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips had earlier said it was &#8220;untrue&#8221; the government was seeking to dilute the focus of the inquiry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Responding to the resignations of Ms Goddard and Ms Reynolds in the House of Commons, Phillips said she regretted the departure of the two women but added: &#8220;My door is always open to them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">She also insisted &#8220;not all victims are of the same opinion&#8221; and she would continue to engage with all survivors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Phillips added that the inquiry panel of victims from which Ms Reynolds and Ms Goddard resigned was not managed by the government, but by a grooming gang charity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But Ms Goddard said the safeguarding minister&#8217;s denials were a &#8220;blatant lie&#8221;, and later told GB News that she would &#8220;consider&#8221; returning to the panel, but only if Phillips resigned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Ms Goddard said there were &#8220;many&#8221; members of the survivors&#8217; panel who were not victims of grooming gangs but different types of child sexual abuse and exploitation, and that only these individuals were pushing for a wider inquiry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">A Home Office spokesperson said the inquiry &#8220;will remain laser-focused on grooming gangs&#8221;, as Baroness Casey had recommended when calling for a national inquiry to be set up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;In order to meaningfully consult with victims and survivors about the terms of reference, we need to ask them questions and listen to their responses.&#8221; the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;That is not expanding the scope &#8211; it is ensuring their voices shape the inquiry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the government&#8217;s inquiry was &#8220;descending into chaos&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">He said that ministers had been &#8220;forced&#8221; into holding the inquiry in June adding: &#8220;Perhaps that is why, months later, the government has said nothing substantive publicly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The Conservatives have called for the inquiry to be chaired by a senior judge to guarantee impartiality and restore faith in the process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Phillips rejected that suggestion, arguing that Baroness Casey had said she did not want a traditional judicial-led inquiry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The minister also stressed the difficulty of finding a chair who was not attached to an institution &#8220;that didn&#8217;t fail these girls over the years, including our courts who took the children away from grooming gang victims, who criminalised some of them&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;There is no institution in our country that hasn&#8217;t failed,&#8221; she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Focus #grooming #inquiry #change #home #secretary #insists<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The focus of the national grooming gangs inquiry &#8220;will not change&#8221; or be &#8220;watered down&#8221;, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39423,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39421\/revisions\/39423"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}