Starmer should quit over grooming gang scandal, says survivor
Sir Keir Starmer should quit as Prime Minister over his failings around the grooming gang scandal, a campaigning survivor has said.
Sammy Woodhouse, who helped expose the Rotherham abuse scandal, said she was disgusted by Sir Keir's conduct in recent months, adding that any politician who had rejected calls for a national inquiry should resign.
Ms Woodhouse was just 14 years old when she was groomed and raped by 24-year-old Arshad Hussain, who was the leader of a child exploitation gang.
She eventually spoke about her ordeal publicly and her testimony helped bring about Prof Jay's inquiry, which revealed that at least 1,400 children had been abused in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.
Her abuser was later jailed for 35 years and she became a leading campaigner fighting to expose the national grooming gang scandal.
Speaking to the Planet Normal podcast, Ms Woodhouse told Allison Pearson of her anger at the way the Prime Minister had initially dismissed the need for a national inquiry and had accused those in support of jumping on a far-Right bandwagon.
She said: 'Well, I'm not far-Right and I'm not jumping on a bandwagon. He is just a coward. At the end of the day we're talking about children being groomed, abused, raped, tortured, trafficked, murdered, impregnated, criminalised.
'We are talking about the most heinous crimes that could ever happen, and he wants to just throw these stupid comments in, that we're far-Right and racist, it's absolutely disgusting.
'I don't think he should be prime minister. People are asking me: 'Do you want an apology from him?' Well, no, I don't want an apology. I want a resignation.
'All these politicians that voted no to an inquiry should not be politicians. It's absolutely disgusting that they still are. I think they've just shown their true colours.'
Ms Woodhouse said her abuser and rapist believed he was untouchable because people in authority were frightened of being perceived as racist or Islamophobic.
She said: 'I was never treated as a victim. I was treated as his mistress, as his girlfriend, and as though, you know, the whole thing was consensual.
'Pretty much all the children were treated like that. If you look at my files, he was invited to medical appointments.'
She said: 'In my own files it shows that an anti-racism coordinator was actually attending my meetings.'
She also alleged that one of the police officers investigating her case – who was later killed – had bought drugs from her abuser.
Ms Woodhouse told the podcast that the Government should ensure that any convicted rapists or child abusers who hold dual citizenship are deported once they have served their sentence.
She said: 'I think we have a very weak government, and we have people – and I think it's probably worse now than what it was back in my day, as a child – that don't want to upset the Pakistani Muslim community.
'Now, I don't care what race you are, what religion you are, what gender you are, if you are raping children, you should be prosecuted. And if you're not from this country, get 'em out.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Update on Lioness goalie Khiara Keating's hippy crack case after she was hauled to court
LIONESS goalie Khiara Keating will face no further action after she was hauled to court accused of a drugs offence. The Manchester City star, 20, was charged with possession of nitrous oxide canisters. She and her mum appeared at Manchester magistrates court last summer when they pleaded not guilty. They were facing a trial in November and were due at a hearing last week. But the case has been dropped owing to insufficient evidence. At an earlier hearing, Isaac Mirza, defending, said Keating was involved in a car crash in June last year. Two police officers found nitrous oxide in her vehicle but Keating and her mum denied that it belonged to them. Nitrous oxide was categorised as a Class C drug in 2023. Possession, where a person intends to inhale it for a psychoactive effect, is an offence. But the gas can be used for legitimate reasons such as pain relief in labour. Keating, from Manchester, became the youngest player to win the Women's Super League Golden Glove in 2023/24, and will feature in next month's Euros. Ella Toone breaks down in tears as Lionesses star receives message from teammate's dad ahead of Euro 2025 1
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Miss Universe finalist shares pics of horror injuries as ex who called her ‘stupid c***' in text is cleared of assault
A MISS Universe finalist has shared pics of her horror injuries after her ex was cleared of assault. Chloe Othen, 34, had been invited over to Ricky Lawrence's home in Knightsbridge, London, when "all hell broke loose", a court heard. 8 8 8 8 The Miss Universe finalist claimed she was pinned down by Lawrence and accused him of punching and biting her on her legs, arm and shoulder, jurors heard. Chloe, an Instagram influencer with 284,000 followers, said she "feared she would die" at the 33-year-old's £1.5million apartment. But Lawrence, who runs Lawrence & Winslade bespoke tailors in Knightsbridge, denied the charges and was cleared of assault causing actual bodily harm after an eight-day retrial. Whisky merchant Lawrence was accused of punching Chloe multiple times but was found not guilty having insisted a love rival beat her up. He claimed her current partner Hatton Garden jeweller Bora Guccuk, 41, was responsible for Chloe's injuries. Now, Chloe has taken to Instagram with her latest post referencing the ordeal. Horrifying pictures of her injuries were uploaded by the influencer along with a statement. Chloe said: "I trusted the justice system. It failed me. "All it takes is an implication of doubt to devalue the overall felt like I was on trial. "This is happening far too often — not just to me, but to survivors everywhere. The courts are being used to retraumatise victims, not protect them. "I spoke my truth. I fought for justice. And I was let down. Moment vile woman caught kicking dog on neighbour's doorbell camera "We need change - because justice shouldn't be this easy to escape." The court was told the pair had been in a relationship for around six months between December 2021 and May 2022 but remained "on and off" after it ended. Giving evidence, Chloe described their relationship as "narcissistic" adding: "You are addicted to the highs and lows. It is euphoric." During her evidence, the influencer said: "I genuinely thought I'm going to die." She told the court she was left with six bite marks and as a result she needed a tetanus shot and antibiotics. Chloe later went to hospital where it was found one of the bite marks on her neck had "turned septic", it was said. Jurors previously heard a slew of messages were recovered from Lawrence's phone that were sent just before the accusations of assault. He told her: 'I'll do everything in my power to f**k you up. "You're a lying little w****, you said you were coming to me an hour-and-a-half ago." Chloe also described Lawrence as "crazy" and claimed he pursued her while she was at the Cannes film festival and in Mykonos with friends. CHARGES CLEARED Smartly dressed in a grey suit, bearded Lawrence appeared emotional as the unanimous verdict was announced as he looked over to supporters at the back of the courtroom. Giving evidence in court, Lawrence claimed Chloe had confided in him that her boyfriend Guccuk was violent towards her - and that at one point he had seen her with a red mark on her face. Lawrence claimed: "She had a mark on the side of her face. It looked like a footprint. It was a round mark. It was a red round mark. "She always described the relationship as violent. She said he used to beat her up, things of that nature." Asked by Tom Wyatt, defending, whether he had ever bitten anyone, Lawrence replied: "Absolutely not. I'd never even had a fight". The defence lawyer said no one was suggesting Chloe was not assaulted but claimed Guccuk was responsible for her injuries. Mr Wyatt added: "She couldn't risk losing the man who paid for her lifestyle." Francesca Allen, 28, who appeared on series five of Love Island, dated Lawrence in 2018 and wrote a character statement as part of Lawrence's defence. Following his initial arrest, Lawrence had wept and said: "This is ridiculous. She's ruining my life. I asked her to leave." Lawrence later gave police a prepared statement in which he confirmed his relationship with Ms Othen began in January 2022 and ended four months later "because she aborted my child". 8 8 8
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Police issue appeal five years after double murder at lockdown party
Murder squad detectives have made a fresh appeal for information on the fifth anniversary of a double killing at a lockdown party. Cheriff Tall, 21, and father of three Abayomi 'Junior' Ajose, 36, were shot dead at a 'spontaneous' party attended by 400 people in Moss Side, Manchester, in the early hours of June 21 2020. The event, with a DJ and PA system, took place in a car park in the middle of a block of flats hours after a Black Lives Matter protest. Detectives are appealing for information if witnesses know or saw someone there who was wearing a black Icon cap with a white logo and a white Nike Air T-shirt with a small black logo over the left side of the chest. A £50,000 reward remains available for key information that leads to the discovery and conviction of the killer, who police believe is from Birmingham. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson, from Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) Major Incident Team, said: 'This year marks five years since Cheriff and Junior went out to a party but sadly never returned home to their loved ones. Their families have been left devastated by their loss, and they deserve justice. 'We will never be able to bring back their beloved Cheriff and Junior, but we can see that their killer is brought to justice. We need members of the community to get in touch and help us with some key information. 'There were hundreds of people in the car park that night and we are sure that there are people who saw the incident, even if it was just part of it. 'However, there has been a reluctance for witnesses to come forward with information. 'I understand that people might be scared, and that is normal given what has happened, but there is a range of measures that we can put in place to keep witnesses safe. 'Evidence can be given on video or behind a screen. It could also be that we could apply to the courts for the witness to be anonymous if there are grounds to do so. 'I'd just ask for you to come forward and we can have an honest chat about what we can do, as you don't have to commit to giving a statement in the first instance. 'The person responsible for these murders we believe is from Birmingham. He is not a member of the local Moss Side community, and he should not be protected. 'Anyone who comes forward in this case is not a 'grass' for helping the police, they are simply doing what is right for two families who have had their loved ones taken from them in awful circumstances. No one deserves that. 'When we have worked together in the past, we have achieved great results and if we work together again, we can get justice for Cheriff and Junior. It's not too late to do the right thing.' Anyone with information, however small or insignificant, should contact GMP in confidence on 0161 856 2035, quoting incident number 221 of 21/06/20. Alternatively, reports can be made in confidence to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Information, including pictures and videos, can be uploaded anonymously to the Major Incident Public Portal for Operation Tarnbrook at
