Rotherham resignation piles more pressure on national abuse inquiry

That was announced earlier this year, to examine orchestrated child sexual abuse in communities across the country - much of which came to light in the aftermath of the Rotherham grooming scandal’s exposure.

But the Government has been facing accusations it has been too slow to move the inquiry forwards, with no chair yet appointed.

That position needs to be filled for the inquiry make meaningful progress.

Victims of abuse have ben sitting on the National Inquiry Survivors Panel but earlier this week two pulled out because of concerns over the direction they regarded the investigation as taking.

Now Elizabeth Harper has anounced her resignation, stating: “What is happening now feels like a cover-up of a cover up.

“It has created a toxic environment for survivors filled with pressures that we should not have to deal with.

“Increasingly, I have seen selective narratives being promoted - ones that appear to serve particular agendas, especially around issues of race and the narrative of “widening the scope”.

“This approach risks distorting the realities of what happened and, once again, marginalising the survivors whose voices should be at the very centre of this work.

“I am also increasingly concerned about perceived conflicts of interest within the inquiry.

“Many survivors fear that political influences may already be embedded in the structure.

“Such perceptions undermine public trust and raise serious questions about the inquiry’s independence.”

She has increasingly felt “that much of this process is scripted and predetermined - as though outcomes are being shaped in advance, rather than energy from honest, open dialogue with survivors.

“This sense of control and stage-management as left many of us questioning whether our voices truly matter or whether we are being used to legitimise decisions that have already been made,” she said.

MP Sarah Champion has already written to the Government regarding progress with the inquiry.

That work was a second-choice for the Government, which had initially favoured a series of local inquiries, where systematic abuse had been exposed.

In her letter, Elizabeth said “far too often, survivors like myself continue to be suppressed and silenced”.

The impact of resignations on the future of the inquiry has yet to emerge.