A grooming gang survivor has condemned Cabinet minister Lucy Powell's comments about a documentary on the scandal as "toxic and disgusting".
Ellie Reynolds told GB News that Powell's remarks were "very scummy" and "very degrading and dismissive".
The Commons leader sparked outrage after describing a Channel 4 documentary on grooming gangs as a "dog whistle" during a BBC Radio 4 programme.
Powell's comments came during BBC Radio 4's Any Questions programme when Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie raised the Channel 4 documentary Groomed: A National Scandal.
Ellie Reynolds fumed at the "scummy comments"
GB NEWS
Speaking to GB News the survivor said: "I think they're very scummy comments. I think they're very degrading and dismissive.
She added: "I think that people like Lucy, it's downplayed and it's not as serious as what it is.
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"We really need to have a look at more on a personal level of the victims and what they've gone through.
"I was subjected to multiple gang rapes, human trafficking, and child sexual exploitation. I was held hostage in flats and takeaways. Sometimes won't go home for four days at a time.
"So the lifelong effects of that mentally as well, is so damaging for somebody to make a comment like that and then expect it to just be okay when they say I'm really sorry. It seems to be a toxic pattern. We've had ignorance from Yvette. We've had ignorance from Jess.
"I mean, hell, at one point there was a lady saying the Rotherham girl should shut up for the sake of diversity. It's toxic and it's disgusting."
When Montgomerie began asking about the documentary, Powell responded: "Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Yeah, OK, let's get that dog whistle out."
After Powell's controversial response, Montgomerie continued: "There is a real issue where.
"There were so many people in local government, in the authorities, who, for good reason, were worried about upsetting community tensions, that those girls went undefended."
Powell later attempted to clarify her position on social media, writing: "I was challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself. I'm sorry if this was unclear."
Labour's Lucy Powell made the comments on Radio 4 on Friday PAIn her apology posted on X, Powell stated: "I regard issues of child exploitation and grooming with the utmost seriousness."
Labour has promised five local inquiries into grooming gangs but has faced criticism for refusing to order a national inquiry into the scandal.
The government has said it will fund further local grooming gangs inquiries if "needed".
