A survivor of coordinated sexual abuse has sharply criticized Labour’s recent decision to reduce the scope of local investigations into grooming gangs, labeling it a “deep betrayal” of victims.
Lucia Rea voiced her disappointment regarding the Government’s shift away from focused inquiries into child sexual exploitation. The controversy ignited after Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips announced that £5 million allocated for five specific probes would be redirected to a more general funding pool.
Phillips defended the move, asserting there was “an excessive amount of partisan distortion” surrounding the government’s actions and emphasizing the need for collaborative support for victims and survivors. She stated: “We will not hesitate to take further action, unlike the previous Government who demonstrated no interest in this issue over 14 years and failed to implement recommendations from a seven-year national inquiry when they had the opportunity.”
Speaking with GB News, Rea expressed her profound dismay: “This backtracking by the government, particularly concerning something as critical as child sexual exploitation, is deeply troubling. It feels like a betrayal of survivors.” She continued, “Survivors didn’t see these commitments as political promises; they were lifelines, offering hope for justice.”
Rea lamented the widespread cancellation of planned investigations: “We now find ourselves in a situation where it seems to be an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality. We envisioned this nationwide. There are numerous areas that desperately need scrutiny.”
The survivor highlighted that even the original five investigations were inadequate.
* “Five inquiries weren’t sufficient to begin with. To now see four removed, leaving just one town receiving limited support – a non-statutory measure – is simply unacceptable.”
Rea emphasized how this decision has further eroded survivors’ already precarious trust in authorities: “It undermines the fragile trust that remained. Survivors have little faith in these institutions, and this action has only exacerbated the problem.” She also questioned whether the government might be attempting to conceal uncomfortable truths.
“Baroness Louise Casey was tasked with examining the underlying data, and I suspect that review may now be delayed. Are they uncovering something within this data they’re unwilling to confront?” Rea inquired. “These decisions are being made without apparent consultation or a clear understanding of what has changed, then dropped on survivors like a bombshell, causing further trauma.”
Rea pointed to the lack of openness in the decision-making process: “Decisions are being made seemingly arbitrarily, without transparency regarding who was consulted or what factors influenced the outcome. Survivors are repeatedly re-traumatized by these abrupt shifts.”
