Five survivors back Jess Phillips - saying they will only support the inquiry if she remains in postFive survivors have written to the PM saying they will only continue to work with his grooming gangs inquiry if Jess Phillips remains in post. It follows four survivors last night writing a separate letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, calling for the opposite. In that letter, the four survivors - who have all already quit the inquiry's survivors panel - said they would only work with the inquiry if the safeguarding minister resigns. In the letter backing the minister, they wrote: "Jess Phillips MP has remained impartial to the process, only listening to feedback, we want her to remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency. The survivors added that they had asked for the scope to be larger than grooming gangs - conflicting with the demands of the letter by the other group of survivors.

Source: The Times October 22, 2025 20:16 UTC