THE PRIME MINISTER and his Cabinet rallied around Jess Phillips today, after a group of women who had resigned from the national grooming gangs inquiry called for her to resign as safeguarding minister.

Asked if he has faith in her, Sir Keir Starmer replied “yes, of course.” A spokesperson for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Ms Phillips also has her “full support” while Health Secretary Wes Streeting praised her work to support victims and survivors of violence.

The four women who quit the inquiry’s victims liaison panel have said, in a letter to Ms Mahmood, that they would be prepared to return if she steps down.

They wrote that Ms Phillips had labelled some of their claims “untrue” after she told MPs on Tuesday that “allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope and dilution are false.”

Their letter says “evidence has since proven we were telling the truth” with one of them, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, saying the final turning point for her was “the push to change the remit, to widen it in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse.”

While reports emerged today that a fifth survivor had left the panel and another had separately joined the call for Ms Phillips to resign, five other survivors invited on to the panel have written to Sir Keir and Ms Mahmood to say they will continue working with the investigation only if Ms Phillips remains in post.

They say that she has “devoted her life to hearing and amplifying the voices of women and girls who would have otherwise been unheard,” according to a Guardian report. 

One of the group, Samantha Walker-Roberts, who was abused in Oldham from the age of 12, has chosen to waive her right to anonymity, with the other five using pseudonyms.

The women say they want the inquiry to cover all types of sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs, and that “anyone who believes their evidence should be included” should have the chance to participate.

They say they believe Ms Phillips has “remained impartial” and they want her to “remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency.”

Two candidates have withdrawn from the running to chair the inquiry.