Jess Phillips has full confidence of PM, says minister, after grooming gang survivors say inquiry will fail if she stays – UK politics live

The four survivors to quit the inquiry’s panel said they would only return if Phillips was removedGood morning. Kemi Badenoch is entitled to take a bit of the credit for persuading Keir Starmer to change his mind and agree to a national grooming gangs inquiry. (GB News and Elon Musk probably played a rule too – although Starmer says the voice that mattered was Louise Casey’s.) When opposition parties influence policy, they always look a bit more serious. But – intentionally or not – by getting the inquiry off the ground, Badenoch has also plunged the government into process turmoil that guarantees endless negative headlines and unwanted distraction.The government is now on day four of the grooming gangs inquiry “crisis” and it is not getting any better. After the resignation of four survivors on the inquiry’s oversight panel, and the withdrawal of both lead candidates to be chair, Starmer is now under fresh pressure to sack Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, over claims that she falsely accused survivors of lying about the process in an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday.I know Jess, she’s been a lifelong advocate and champion for young girls who’ve been abused, and she has already shown that she’s properly engaging with the survivor community.The government’s intent on this is incredibly solid. We want to get this right. We’re taking action and we’ll set the inquiry up.I would just urge other political parties to turn the volume down a little bit, or turn the heat down a little bit on, on their attacks. Continue reading...