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The grooming gangs victim who was first to quit their role in the national inquiry has threatened to sue minister Jess Phillips for libel. Fiona Goddard issued the warning in a letter her solicitors wrote to the parliamentary under-secretary for safeguarding and violence against women and girls on Friday. It followed a public statement made by the Labour MP after Ms Goddard and three other women left the probe's victims and survivors panel this week. They cited concerns the government is trying to widen the scope of the inquiry and water it down - but Ms Phillips subsequently came out to call such claims 'untrue'. The group has already called for the Home Office minister to resign, claiming she accused them of lying. In a letter to Commons Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley, Ms Phillips denied the government was 'seeking to dilute the focus of the inquiry'. Ms Goddard's solicitors, Switalskis, said the suggestion of watering down was 'patently not untrue'. They also said Ms Phillips's letter had been 'defamatory' as it suggested their client had been untruthful. The lawyers also referred to a text message conversation in which Ms Goddard raised concerns with Ms Phillips about an item on an agenda for a meeting with survivors. The topic listed for discussion was the question of whether the inquiry should take a 'broader approach' than an 'explicit focus on "grooming gangs"'. They said the minister replied: 'I know it's hard to trust but I can promise you no-one is trying to manipulate the response and it is my view it is only a grooming gang's [sic] specific inquiry but it is not right for me to make that decision without it being formally consulted on.' Many victims believe widening the inquiry will dilute its focus on the failure of local authorities, police and other officials to tackle grooming by largely Pakistani gangs. Ellie-Ann Reynolds, who is among the survivors who quit the panel, said the turning point for her was 'the push to change the remit, to widen it in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse'. Ms Goddard said she had been 'abused and smeared online' as a result of Ms Phillips's statement. The solicitors concluded: 'Ms Goddard will accept a written apology from Ms Phillips to put an end to this matter.' The Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley has found herself at the centre of a row over the grooming gangs inquiry. The controversy has also seen the two candidates to chair the probe withdraw from contention. While some survivors, including Ms Goddard, have called for Ms Phillips to quit, a separate group of five said this week they would only keep working with the inquiry with her in post. They said the minister has 'remained impartial' and 'we want her to remain in position for the duration of the process for consistency'. They explained they asked for the scope to go beyond grooming gangs because some survivors would be excluded for not fitting the 'generalised stereotype' of what that includes. In the Commons on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted the inquiry 'is not and will never be watered down' and its scope 'will not change'. He said at PMQs: 'It will examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders, and we will find the right person to chair the inquiry.' He also vowed 'injustice will have no place to hide' as he announced Baroness Louise Casey is being drafted in to support the inquiry. She previously led a 'national audit' of group-based child sexual exploitation that found 'many examples' of organisations shying away from discussion of 'ethnicity or cultural factors' in such offences 'for fear of appearing racist'. Her findings, published in June this year, prompted Sir Keir to order the creation of the national inquiry. The PM also said this week he 'of course' has faith in Ms Phillips, as other ministers also rallied around her. Asked during a visit on Friday if he had confidence in her to oversee the process, he said: 'Yes, of course, I do. 'Jess has been working on issues involving violence against women and girls for many, many years.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also given strong backing, saying there is 'no-one better for that job' than Ms Phillips. Their assertions of faith came despite a fifth woman, who goes under the pen name Gaia Cooper, quitting the panel this week, to join the four who had already left. She reportedly claimed she had been offered 'no support' and the process is being used as a 'political battering ram'. Her fellow four departing panellists had previously written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood about Ms Phillips's comments on the scope of the inquiry. But the safeguarding minister is so far being supported by Ms Mahmood too. In an attempt to assuage concerns earlier this week, however, the home secretary emphasised the inquiry scope 'will not change'. Writing in The Times and for GB News, she said the probe 'is not, and will never be, watered down on my watch'. The minister said it would focus on how 'some of the most vulnerable people in this country' were abused 'at the hands of predatory monsters'. Adding it was 'essential that the victims are at the heart of this inquiry', she expressed regret that the four women had decided to step down from the panel. Ms Mahmood said: 'Should they wish to return, the door will always remain open to them. 'But even if they do not, I owe it to them — and the country — to answer some of the concerns that they have raised.' Speaking to Times Radio on Wednesday, Ms Goddard said the Home Secretary's statement was 'reassuring'. But she reiterated her call for Ms Phillips to resign over her comments disputing the allegations the inquiry was being watered down. She told Channel 4 News: 'My problem is there is little to no recognition of what Jess Phillips did today by nationally calling me a liar when she knew I was telling the truth. 'I think that there needs to be an apology, swiftly followed by Jess Phillips' resignation. 'Jess Phillips needs to be removed because I don't think her conduct … this last 24 hours especially, has been acceptable for the position that she holds. 'She has publicly accused me of lying when she knows I'm telling the truth.' Ms Phillips told MPs on Tuesday she 'absolutely regrets' survivors had quit their roles but that 'allegations of intentional delay, lack of interest or widening of the inquiry scope and dilution are false'. She said opinions varied among victims as to who would be best suited to the role as she faced questions from MPs about the process. 'I will engage with all the victims, regardless of their opinions, and I will listen to those that have been put in the media, that are put in panels, I will always listen and I will speak to all of them,' she said. The four victims who quit the panel, however, countered by saying 'evidence has since proven we were telling the truth'. Ellie-Ann Reynolds, Fiona Goddard, Elizabeth Harper and a woman signed only as 'Jessica' state in the letter there are five conditions for their return to the advisory panel. As well as Ms Phillips's resignation, they call for 'all survivors on the panel to be genuinely consulted on the appointment of a chair, who must be a former or sitting judge'. They also demand victims are able to speak freely without fear of reprisal and for the inquiry's scope to remain 'laser-focused' on grooming gangs. The women also request that the current victim liaison lead is replaced by a mental health professional. The survivors' letter, shared on Ms Goddard's X account, says: 'Being publicly contradicted and dismissed by a government minister when you are a survivor telling the truth takes you right back to that feeling of not being believed all over again. 'It is a betrayal that has destroyed what little trust remained. 'We have been failed by every institution meant to protect us. 'We were failed as children, we were failed by police who didn't believe us, failed by social services who blamed us, and failed by a system that protected our abusers. 'We will not participate in an inquiry that repeats those same patterns of dismissal, secrecy, and institutional self-protection.' Despite this, Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour there was 'no one in Parliament who has done more to tackle violence against women and girls than Jess'. Asked if she should resign, he said: 'No, I don't think she should... 'I'm not dismissing what her critics are saying, and the criticism they have of the type of candidates that have been put forward, we do take those things seriously. 'But there is no one better for that job than Jess Phillips, and no one more committed to these issues in Parliament than Jess Phillips.' The group of five survivors who wish for her to remain in post similarly said she had 'devoted her life to hearing and amplifying the voices of women and girls who would have otherwise been unheard'. The contingent reportedly includes one woman who was abused in Oldham from the age of 12. The intervention underlined the difficulties for the government in assembling the long-awaited inquiry. According to the Telegraph, Gaia Cooper said in her separate letter to NWG - the charity running victims' liaison - she did not 'align' herself 'with any political agendas'. 'Numerous times during this process, which I agree is in its infancy, we have been offered counselling and support, but during this media storm there has been nothing, and that is the time I have felt I needed it the most,' she reportedly wrote. Another leading candidate to chair the inquiry withdrew from the process earlier this week hitting out at the 'toxic' situation. Former police officer Jim Gamble accused politicians of prioritising 'their own petty personal or political issues' and 'playing games' with the inquiry. In his withdrawal letter, he said he had 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'. He later criticised those 'who have been mischief-making' by highlighting his former police career, saying it was 'nonsense' to imply he would align himself 'with any political party to hide their blushes'. He follows Annie Hudson, a former director of children's services for Lambeth, who was reported to have withdrawn on Tuesday. A Home Office spokesman previously said on this: 'We are disappointed that candidates to chair that inquiry have withdrawn. 'This is an extremely sensitive topic, and we have to take the time to appoint the best person suitable for the role.' Reports of young girls being groomed by gangs of men, primarily of Pakistani heritage, first emerged in 2002. A group of five men were convicted in 2010 of sexual offences against girls aged 12 to 16 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The Times then published an investigation revealing the extent of the abuse in the town - and also by other similar networks elsewhere in the country. Grooming gangs have since been found and locked up in more than a dozen other English towns, most notably Rochdale, Oldham and Telford. Former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a national review of grooming gangs in January this year. Baroness Casey undertook a 'rapid' three-month national audit and made 12 recommendations to the government - including a national inquiry. The prime minister launched the national inquiry in June, after reading the Casey report. It followed months of pressure on the government to act, as well as a series of local investigations into the issue, including in Rotherham and Rochdale. The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
