A Labour MP has angrily denied suggesting David Cameron took the issue of child exploitation more seriously than Theresa May because he is a father.
Sarah Champion said in an interview that she was concerned May had allowed the issue to fall off the agenda since she became prime minister, having been committed to it as home secretary. Champion has campaigned on child abuse since the 2011 grooming scandal in her Rotherham constituency.
“David Cameron got it and I think he got it because I went to him as a dad, rather than going to him as a politician,” she told the House magazine.
“And I got him to meet some of the survivors of Rotherham and one of the mums whose child went through it. So we engaged with him on that level, which is why he then crusaded as a dad, wanting it for other people’s children.
“Theresa May was great when she was home secretary and then as soon as she shifted to PM, it’s dropped off the radar. It’s clearly not a priority for them. It’s someone else’s problem.”
On Friday, after her interview was published, Champion angrily hit back at claims that she had suggested Cameron was better on the issue than May because he is a parent. The prime minister does not have children.
For the record, I have not - and would not - say anything about Theresa May’s ability as a politician based on where or not she is a mother. Absolute rubbish and lies
— Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) February 15, 2018
May set up an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse when she was home secretary, following allegations that politicians had participated in a paedophile ring during the 1970s and 80s.
Champion said she did not know whether politicians would handle the issue any better today and said it was statistically likely that at least one MP or their immediate family had been involved in child sexual exploitation.
“One in 20 children will have a sexual assault against them. When you look at something inappropriate happening to them, that drops dramatically to one in four girls and one in eight boys,” she said.
“That might be inappropriate language or [they were] made to feel uncomfortable or in a compromising situation, not necessarily being physically groped.
“So there is no way that there aren’t people who are sitting MPs who aren’t involved in some way or another, or a member of their family is. I mean, that’s just the reality, and I know that’s very uncomfortable and no one wants to think about it.”
Champion resigned as shadow equalities minister last year after writing a controversial column in the Sun on Asian men and child grooming gangs, which she initially claimed had been edited without her consent, but was later found to have been approved.
Conservative MPs attacked Champion’s comments, which the MP said had been misinterpreted. Helen Grant, the party’s vice-chairwoman, called them “an outrageous slur” on the prime minister.
“From tackling the scourge of female genital mutilation to modern slavery and domestic violence, the PM has been at the forefront of driving efforts to crack down on abuse in all its forms,” she said.
The Tory MP Mark Garnier told the Sun her comments were “a low blow … I don’t think you need to be a mother to know that child abuse is a bad thing”.
Champion tweeted Grant on Friday saying she had not been attributing the prime minister’s lack of action to her not having children.
.@HelenGrantMP my statement praised May for the work she did as Home Secretary on child abuse but I said it has dropped as a priority since she became PM. You were clearly told I had said something else & i’m sorry that happened - you know me better.
— Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) February 15, 2018
