Inquiry into grooming gangs in turmoil after potential chair quits

Pulled out of the appointment process because of a “lack of confidence” in him among some survivors of grooming gangs “due to my previous occupation”.

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The letter said: “I made a commitment that if this consensus of trust was not present, I would not proceed, and I must now be true to my word.

“This decision is reinforced by the highly charged and toxic environment that has surrounded and influenced the appointment process and the impact this has had on those closest to me.”

He later criticised those “who have been mischief-making” by highlighting his former police career, saying it was “nonsense” to imply that he would align himself “with any political party to hide their blushes”.

Asked why he had stepped back, Gamble told Sky News: “I think the growing level of toxicity and the fact that in the midst of lots of misinformation, I think many of the victims and survivors were being disrespected and misinformed.”

The four abuse survivors resigned from their roles on the victims and survivors liaison panel, accusing the Home Office and ministers of sidelining them and seeking to widen the inquiry for political ends.

They suspect that the government is trying to deflect focus away from Labour-led councils and wants to impose a government-friendly chair while avoiding questions over the ethnicity of the perpetrators, many of whom were men of Pakistani descent.