No 10 has backed the cabinet minister Lucy Powell after she apologised for appearing to suggest it was a “dog whistle” issue to discuss grooming gangs.
Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, faced calls from the Conservatives to resign after she made the remarks on Friday night.
In a radio discussion, Tim Montgomerie, a Reform commentator, asked Powell if she had seen a Channel 4 programme about five girls who were sexually abused by grooming gangs.
In response, Powell, who is the MP for Manchester Central, responded: “Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Yeah, OK, let’s get that dog whistle out.”
She apologised on Saturday, saying: “In the heat of a discussion on AQ [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.”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said on Sunday that everyone makes mistakes and it was time to move forward after Powell had said sorry for her lack of clarity.
Asked if Powell’s job was safe, he told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “Yes. I think she’s made a genuine mistake. She’s owned up to it, she’s said sorry and we’ll move on.”
Reform said Keir Starmer should consider whether Powell was still fit to serve in her job.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, went further by calling on Powell to resign.
“This shocking outburst from a Labour cabinet minister belittles the thousands of girls and women who were raped by grooming gangs over decades,” he said. “We have consistently called for a national inquiry 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.”
The Channel 4 documentary has led to renewed calls for an inquiry into the grooming gang scandal, which has led to accusations of failures in the police and social services.
Starmer said on Wednesday there had already been an inquiry and its recommendations would be implemented. He told parliament that Labour was “delivering truth and justice for victims”.
