London — A Labour cabinet minister is clinging to her post amid a blazing row after calling the grooming gangs scandal a “dog whistle” issue. Lucy Powell, the Commons Leader, sparked outrage with remarks that have Tories and victims’ advocates demanding her resignation. The controversy, erupting in mid-April 2025, has cracked open old wounds from one of Britain’s most harrowing criminal sagas.
Powell’s comments came during a heated exchange on a Channel 4 documentary aired on April 14, which dug into the systematic abuse of young girls by organized gangs in towns like Rochdale and Rotherham. The film laid bare how authorities, over decades, fumbled responses to the crimes, often citing fears of racial tensions. Powell, appearing on a follow-up panel, dismissed the documentary’s framing as a “dog whistle” — a term implying coded language meant to stoke prejudice. Her words landed like a match in a tinderbox.
By April 16, Conservative MPs were baying for her head. A statement from the Tory press office branded Powell’s remark “an insult to victims” and urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to sack her. Several backbenchers echoed the call, with one senior Tory MP quoted in a major outlet saying, “She’s trivialized a tragedy that scarred communities. She’s got to go.” The backlash wasn’t just political. Maggie Oliver, a former detective turned whistleblower on the Rochdale case, told a national broadcaster on April 17 that Powell’s comment was “a slap in the face” to survivors who’d fought for justice.
Powell scrambled to contain the damage. On April 18, she issued an apology via a written statement to Parliament, saying she “deeply regretted” any distress caused and insisting she’d meant to critique media framing, not the victims’ suffering. The mea culpa did little to douse the flames. A petition calling for her resignation, launched by a victims’ advocacy group, had garnered over 10,000 signatures by April 20, according to figures reported by a leading newspaper.
The grooming gangs scandal itself is a grim chapter in British history. Reports from government inquiries, like the 2020 Home Office review, detail how predominantly Asian men targeted vulnerable girls, often in care homes, with rape, trafficking, and abuse across multiple towns from the 1990s to the 2010s. The same review found police and councils repeatedly failed to act, sometimes dismissing victims as “troubled” or fearing accusations of racism. Over 1,400 victims were identified in Rotherham alone, per a 2014 independent report.
Starmer, so far, has stood by Powell. A Downing Street spokesperson on April 19 said the Prime Minister “has full confidence” in her, adding that Labour remains committed to tackling child sexual exploitation. But the row has reopened a raw debate about accountability and political rhetoric. Critics argue Powell’s comment reflects a deeper reluctance to confront the scandal’s complexities head-on.
As of April 30, Powell remains in her post. No further disciplinary action has been announced. The petition for her resignation continues to circulate, and Conservative MPs have vowed to keep pressing the issue in Parliament.