Survivors of the grooming gangs scandal feel ‘disrespected’ and ‘voiceless’ after the victims panel at the heart of the inquiry was scrapped by the government, Metro can reveal.
The victims and survivors liaison panel was shelved by the Home Office in January, a month after survivors criticised the appointment of then Labour peer Anne Longfield as chair of the future inquiry.
The decision to disband the panel, first reported by Metro in December, has sparked accusations that they are being ‘ignored’ and used as a ‘box-ticking exercise’
The Conservatives are calling on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to explain ‘how she allowed this to happen’, while the government stresses the group was always meant to be temporary.
Multiple survivors have told Metro the panel was disbanded after final meetings in January.
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Fiona Goddard, who was abused in Bradford from the age of 14 in the late 2000s, said survivors were ‘really mad’ it was axed.
The campaigner, who quit the panel in October, told said: ‘They felt betrayed and disrespected all over again.
‘Survivors were told they had a voice and then it was taken away from them.
‘There needs to be survivor involvement in the inquiry but it needs to be respected and listened to.’
‘Jessica’, who also quit the liaison group in October, told Metro the decision to scrap the panel was proof the government was ‘not thinking about victims and survivors at all’.
The survivor, who was abused from the age of 12 to 17, added: ‘I think the government established the panel to shut us all up.
‘It should have been ongoing until the inquiry was complete.’
The Home Office first promised the creation of a survivors panel in January last year, saying it ensure ‘victims’ voices remain at the very heart’ of government work on child sexual abuse.
After mounting criticism of the government’s refusal to establish a national statutory inquiry exclusively into grooming gangs, the prime minister announced in June that one would be set up.
However, the inquiry was thrown into disarray when four survivors quit the liaison panel in October, and two leading candidates to chair the investigation pulled out.
The Home Secretary announced on December 9 that the then Labour peer Baroness Longfield would chair the £65 million process, which will take three years.
Multiple survivors have confirmed to Metro that the panel was wound down after the appointment was made.
The Home Office has stressed that Baroness Longfield, who has given up the Labour whip to remain politically neutral, will be ‘engaging directly with victims and survivors’ instead of using the panel.
However, shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the government is ‘excluding survivors’.
The Conservative MP told Metro: ‘Their voices were ignored for too long – mainly because the perpetrators were of mainly Pakistani origin.
‘Now the Labour government is ignoring them again. Justice will not be done, and the truth won’t be uncovered, unless these voices are heard.
‘The government never wanted this inquiry in the first place – they were forced into holding it.
‘And now they are excluding the survivors, making it more likely the cover up will continue.
‘This is shameful, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood must urgently explain why she has allowed this to happen.’
The government said in December it would be setting up a long-term Child Sexual Abuse Victim and Survivor Panel.
However, survivors said they have heard no further details about this, and the Home Office did not mention it in its most recent statement to Metro.
Ms Goddard feared that any future panel would be ‘selective’ and another ‘box-ticking exercise’.
The campaigner is among a number of survivors who have rejected the appointment of Baroness Longfield, a former Children’s Commissioner, due to her previous links to Labour.
Ms Goddard said: ‘The panel were never consulted on Anne Longfield. She was the opposite of what the vast majority of survivors wanted.
‘They wanted someone completely independent of a political party. That is not what they got.
‘Survivors want to be listened to and acknowledged. Many now feel I was right to quit the panel.’
Other survivors have also told Metro that Baroness Longfield’s appointment is ‘conflicted’, even though she has taken a leave of absence from the Lords to complete the inquiry.
Ms Goddard also criticised the inquiry’s draft terms of reference, which states that the process ‘will not investigate every local area where grooming gangs have operated’ and will only look at cases from 2000 onwards.
The campaigner said these commitments were ‘an insult’ and ‘weak’, adding that it will stop the truth about the grooming gangs scandal coming out.
She explained: ‘The truth is a lot worse than people think. I know people whose stories made me cry and were a thousand times worse than what I went through. People are scared of the truth coming out.’
The Terms of Reference are only a draft, and Baroness Longfield will undertake a period of consultation on them before agreeing on the final Terms of Reference with the Home Secretary at the end of March.
A Home Office spokesperson told Metro: ‘We have established the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, with full legal powers to compel evidence, to uncover the truth and provide answers that survivors of these horrific crimes deserve.
‘The interim group was established to enable government to engage victims and survivors as we set up the Inquiry.
‘Now the Chair, Baroness Longfield, will be engaging directly with victims and survivors as the inquiry begins.’
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