Five women who are survivors of grooming gangs have called on Nigel Farage to apologise after he suggested they were victims of other types of sexual abuse. The women described the Reform UK leader’s comments as “degrading and humiliating” and accused him of “ignorance” of the issues.
Last week, the women wrote to Prime Minister Keir Starmer stating they would only remain on a panel advising the government’s inquiry into grooming gangs if safeguarding minister Jess Phillips stayed in post and “anyone who believes their evidence should be included” could contribute. However, Farage claimed on Monday that the women were victims of other forms of child sexual abuse, not grooming gangs.
In a statement, the women said: “Nigel Farage should apologise. What he said about us is categorically untrue, saying we shouldn’t be on the panel because we are watering it down and we are survivors of other abuse, not grooming gangs. We are survivors of grooming and grooming gangs.” They added that Farage’s “lack of knowledge and assumptions” about their experiences proved he should not have a platform to make decisions about them or their input.
The inquiry, ordered in June, followed a review by Whitehall troubleshooter Louise Casey, which found “disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds” among suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation in some areas. However, Casey cautioned that a lack of ethnicity data made it difficult to paint an accurate national picture. The women, while abused by Asian men, stressed they were “aware the inquiry is not just about us”.
About 30 survivors were asked to join a panel to help appoint a chair and shape the inquiry’s terms of reference. Five have resigned amid claims the government tried to dilute the scope beyond street-based grooming gangs. Ellie-Ann Reynolds, who quit the panel, appeared alongside Farage at a press conference. Farage said the government had “deliberately widened the scope” to include women who were victims of “a very different kind of sexual abuse”.
The women who backed Phillips said they worry that focusing only on street grooming will exclude those whose exploitation began online, through peers or family members. They added: “There is no point holding an inquiry if the scope is so small the decision is already made before it begins.” Two of the group have written memoirs using pseudonyms, while two others said they felt unable to share details “through fear of their safety”.
