00:00Mr. Speaker, four victims on the Rape Gang Survivors Panel have resigned, and they've
00:10resigned because they've lost all confidence in the government's inquiry. So I'm giving
00:16my first question to one of them, to Fiona. She said, being dismissed and contradicted
00:24by a minister, when you're telling the truth, takes you right back to that feeling of not
00:30being believed all over again. Fiona's question is simple. What's the point in speaking up
00:37if we're just going to be called liars?
00:39The Prime Minister.
00:41Can I thank her for raising that on behalf of Fiona, and let me give Fiona and the House
00:46my answer, Mr Speaker, because the grooming scandal was one of the worst scandals of our
00:51time. Women and girls were abused and exploited by predatory gangs of men, and survivors have
00:58been ignored for many years, including by the state that, of course, is supposed to protect
01:04them. My vow to Fiona and them is that this national inquiry will change that. I do acknowledge
01:12that in recent days some members, including Fiona, have decided to step away from the panel.
01:17I say this, should they wish to return, the door will always be open. But even if they
01:25do not, we owe it to them and to Fiona and to the country to answer the concerns that they
01:31have raised. The inquiry is not and will never be watered down. Its scope will not change.
01:39It will examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders. And we will find the right person
01:45to chair the inquiry.
01:48Mr Speaker, I doubt she'll be satisfied with that answer. He says that they could return
01:52to the panel if they wish to. Why would they do that? The government has been engaged in
01:57a briefing war against survivors.
01:59Elizabeth.
02:00It's actually disgraceful.
02:02Oh, really? They say shame. Why don't they listen to what Elizabeth had to say? Why don't
02:10they listen to what Elizabeth had to say? Elizabeth, who was abused in Rotherham from the age of
02:1714, had this to say, and I quote, the government has created a toxic environment for survivors.
02:25They were looking for answers from the Prime Minister. And what they've heard is Labour MPs
02:29saying shame at their words.
02:30What we're trying to do is to get this right and have an inquiry with survivors at the heart.
02:38As the safeguarding minister told the House yesterday, that's obviously not easy. They've all come
02:43with difficult experiences. There are a wide range of views, understandably, and every survivor
02:49does bring their own painful experience to this. The survivors met the prospective chairs
02:56this week, and we want them to have the chance to engage. I want survivors to be at the heart
03:01of this. I want an inquiry that can get to the truth. These are the hard yards. I accept that.
03:07I want to press on and get this right. Now, one of the victims has quit. Contrary to what
03:15the Prime Minister's just said and what the Home Secretary wrote this morning, they believe
03:20that the inquiry will downplay the racial and religious motivations behind their abuse.
03:26Aren't the victims right when they call it a cover-up?
03:29Mr Speaker, my priorities are listening to and standing up for the survivors. That's
03:35why we're doing the work on the inquiry. That's why we've reopened the criminal cases,
03:40why we brought in mandatory reporting. But I would gently remind them that they had 14
03:45years in office. They barely mentioned this issue. Where there were inquiries, they failed
03:53to act on them. We have done more in the time we've been in office than they did in 14 long
04:10years.
Comentarios