Minister apologises over 'gagging' of grooming gang survivors as inquiry descends into chaos after fourth panel member quits

Recent hours have seen a fourth woman quit the victims and survivors liaison panel, with survivors levelling heavy criticism at the Home Office over their handling of the inquiry.

One of the women, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, said victims were not allowed to seek support from friends or family, from other survivors and were "discouraged" from speaking outside of the panel.

Speaking with LBC, Environment secretary Emma Reynolds apologised to the women for what they saw as silencing and insisted it "shouldn't have happened".

She told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that she didn't know why the women would have been told they couldn't speak outside the panel, with the women previously reporting that they felt "gagged".

She said: "I think for me, the voices of these women are at the front and centre of this inquiry. They have to be."

It comes as Sir Keir Starmer insisted during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday that the inquiry "is not and will never be watered down".

His response saw opposition leader Kemi Badenoch brand the culture surrounding the inquiry "toxic" for survivors.

Read more: Grooming gangs 'rife' in London as survivors and experts label Sadiq Khan's denials 'delusional'

Read more: Mahmood vows grooming gang inquiry will 'leave no hiding place' despite survivors stepping down

Speaking on the matter, Labour's Emma Reynolds insisted: "These women, when they were young girls, they were failed by the state again and again and they weren't listened to by the state again and again.

"And we're intent as a government to rebuilding the confidence of these victims."

The minister also insisted the government would "not be diluting the focus of the inquiry".

"We will not be expanding the scope of the inquiry. We will leave no stone unturned," she said, adding: "As a government, we are absolutely determined to get to the truth of what happened here and to deliver justice for the victims."

"It's absolutely crucial that we rebuild the confidence of those victims and that we do more to regain their confidence," she added.

"And the home secretary and the Prime Minister and the whole of the government is absolutely committed to doing that."

It comes as London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan was labelled "delusional" over grooming gangs operating in London.

Survivors and experts say child sex abuse is "rife" in the capital, with the Mayor of London under pressure after being accused of ‘stonewalling’ questions on grooming gangs in City Hall earlier this year.

The national inquiry has faced criticism in recent days after a number of survivors stepped down from the panel.

Speaking to LBC on Tuesday, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, said she decided to step away from the inquiry due to the "control" the Home Office was having over survivors.

"To me that felt like a division. It felt like it was then set out to try and divide us and make us weak again," she said.

"A lot of survivors, they don't go to authorities for support, they go to family and they go to other survivors because the authorities have failed them so many times before."

She said looking back on it now, it was a "manipulation tactic", and added: "They came across as really nice but equally controlling."

She continued: "When you read back on the emails now, you can see that it's nothing short of gaslighting how they've run the whole inquiry anyway.

"We were led to believe that we would be shaping the terms of reference and apparently now there's something flying around that the terms of reference have already been drafted - so there was actually no point of us even being there."

Ms Reynolds said survivors have been failed twice.

"They've been filled twice by the abuse that they suffered and they've been failed then by the systems and authorities."

While she is disappointed and "heartbroken" by the failures of the inquiry, she said she was not surprised.

"It's another way to silence everybody so that the government and the authorities look like they're doing the job, but they're not. It's basically a whitewash," she said.