The leader of the House of Commons is facing calls to quit after she appeared to dismiss concerns over the grooming gangs scandal as “dog whistle” politics.
Lucy Powell’s remark came in BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions when she was responding to a point by Reform UK’s Tim Montgomerie.
Ms Powell interrupted as he was trying to question why Labour has blocked a national inquiry into the way gangs of men targeted young girls in towns and cities around the UK with the authorities failing to act.
She said: "Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we?"
Her comment received widespread backlash and Ms Powell, the Labour MP for Manchester Central, was accused of belittling the issue. The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, has called for Ms Powell to resign.
Labour has been resisting calls for a national inquiry and recently cancelled five local inquiries it had promised.
Ms Powell quickly issued a clarification on X (formerly Twitter) to apologise to those who felt she had not taken the issue seriously.
As MP for Manchester Central Ms Powell has had to directly deal with the fallout of the scandal with victims in her own constituency which covers parts of Oldham.
She said: “In the heat of a discussion on Any Questions, I would like to clarify that I regard issues of child exploitation and grooming with the utmost seriousness. I’m sorry if this was unclear. I was challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself. As a constituency MP I’ve dealt with horrendous cases. This government is acting to get to the truth, and deliver justice.”
Health secretary Wes Streeting also came to her defence and insisted she should not lose her job.
Asked if he and his Labour colleagues see the grooming gangs scandal as a dog-whistle issue or a "coded signal to racists", Mr Streeting said: "No and I don't think that's what Lucy intended to imply in a heated debate on Radio 4, and that's why she's apologised for what she said.
"I don't think for a moment she would have meant or wanted to imply that raising these issues, talking about these issues, is dog whistle."
"We all make mistakes" and the important thing is that "we own it", Mr Streeting told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.
Asked if Ms Powell's job as Leader of the House of Commons was safe, he said: "I think she's made a genuine mistake, she's owned up to it she's said sorry and we'll move on."
But she was also criticised by former Labour adviser Tom Baldwin, Keir Starmer’s biographer, who described her remarks as “ill-judged”.
Mr Montgomerie also addressed the confrontation on Sir Trevor’s show.
He said: "There's been a tendency - it's gone on for too long now - to close all sorts of important debates down by throwing that racist charge at people.”
He warned people feel there is a "stifling of debate".
"In the context of grooming gangs, an issue of such consequence, I think it was clearly ill-judged by Lucy Powell, but she was, I think she was keen to have a very strong go at Reform, and I was the representative of Reform that night.
"But unfortunately, the words she chose have wider resonance.
"And I think the only trouble, if she really is to get in trouble (is) if survivors come out in large numbers and object to what she said."
It was also pointed out that Ms Powell had pushed for one of George Galloway’s Respect candidates to be dropped over remarks he had made about rapes and the Tories have demanded she is sacked.
Chris Philp MP, shadow home secretary, said: “This shocking outburst from a Labour Cabinet minister belittles the thousands of girls and women who were raped by grooming gangs over decades.
“We have consistently called for a national enquiry in Parliament, which has been blocked by Labour Ministers who don’t seem to know or care about the disgusting crimes which have been perpetrated.
“Anyone who has seen the shocking Channel 4 documentary will know that it is clearer than ever that this is not a ‘dog whistle’. To dismiss thousands of victims who were raped and the cover up that followed is sickening.
“She should resign.”
