The Manchester Central MP appeared to describe the grooming gangs issue as a ‘dog whistle’ during a Radio 4 debate.
Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell
Lucy Powell ‘deeply regrets’ that she appeared to suggest grooming gangs were a ‘dog whistle’ issue, according to her office.
The Manchester Central MP and the Leader of the House of Commons was on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions programme on Friday night with Conservative Party co-chairman Nigel Huddleston, Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan and political commentator and Reform UK member Tim Montgomerie when she was asked about grooming gangs.
When Mr Montgomerie brought up a recent Channel 4 documentary about five women’s stories of being groomed and abused by gangs, Ms Powell replied: “Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let’s get that dog whistle out, shall we?”
Her comment received widespread backlash and Ms Powell was accused of belittling the crime.
Ms Powell posted an apology on social media on Saturday night, writing: “In the heat of a discussion on (Any Questions) I would like to clarify that I regard issues of child exploitation & 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.”
Today (Monday) Ms Powell declined to comment when the Manchester Evening News called her but her office emphasised that she had ‘quickly apologised and sought to clarify that her comments were not in any way directed at the victims or the heinous crimes they’ve been subject to’.
The MP ‘deeply regrets that her comments have given the impression of anything other than she thinks these are incredibly serious and important matters’. Her office stressed that Ms Powell has reached out privately to victims in Manchester and would continue to support them.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “She’s mortified and, you know, she does not want and would not want people who’ve campaigned on, or been victims of, these most appalling crimes to think she was in any way trying to undermine those experiences or those arguments.
Labour MP Lucy Powell leaves 10 Downing Street(Image: Tejas Sandhu/PA Wire)
“I think the point she was trying to make, and the point I would make, is on such a serious issue the more we can take the heat of the politics out of this, and get to the heart of the challenge, the better.”
Mr Montgomerie said Ms Powell’s comments were ‘clearly ill-judged’ but her words have ‘wider resonance’. “There’s been a tendency – it’s gone on for too long now – to close all sorts of important debates down by throwing that racist charge at people,” Mr Montgomerie told Sky News.
He said people feel there is a ‘stifling of debate’.
“In the context of grooming gangs, an issue of such consequence, I think it was clearly ill-judged by Lucy Powell, but she was, I think she was keen to have a very strong go at Reform, and I was the representative of Reform that night.
“But unfortunately, the words she chose have wider resonance.
“And I think the only trouble, if she really is to get in trouble (is) if survivors come out in large numbers and object to what she said.”
Conservative co-chairman Mr Huddleston told Sky News Ms Powell’s statement was “completely inappropriate”. He said: “Quite frankly, Lucy Powell made quite a lot of silly comments on a whole range of issues. That was one of them.
“This is a really serious issue and to kind of belittle… it is completely inappropriate.
“I think that shows that, unfortunately, Wes Streeting and the Labour Party have underestimated how big an issue this is, how it resonates with the public and how they are angry about what they perceive as this Government’s lack of action here.
“They made promises about having additional investigations, and now have backtracked on it, and they need to be held to account for that.”