Former police officer and campaigner Maggie Oliver has condemned Commons leader Lucy Powell's dismissive comments on grooming gangs, saying they show a lack of "humanity or integrity".
Speaking to GB News, Oliver said Powell's remarks "verbalises the contempt" that successive governments have shown towards victims.
"It's insensitive, it's insulting, it's dismissive," Oliver stated.
She added that Powell had "made a horrendous mistake" by revealing what politicians actually think behind closed doors.
Maggie Oliver lashed out at Lucy Powell's comments on grooming gangs
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"For somebody to say that after that program on Channel Four last Wednesday shows the lack of humanity," Oliver said, describing Powell as someone without "humanity or integrity or even the most basic understanding" of victims' experiences.
Powell's controversial comments came during BBC Radio 4's Any Questions when she interrupted Reform UK's Tim Montgomerie as he questioned why Labour blocked a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
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Maggie Oliver reacted to the remarks on GB News
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"Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we?" Powell said.
Her remarks sparked widespread backlash, with victims accusing her of "totally dismissing" their abuse.
Sarah Wilson, who was abused from age 11 in Rotherham, said Powell's attitude showed "what victims and survivors have been up against all these years".
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for Powell's resignation, saying her "shocking outburst" belittled thousands of victims.
Lucy Powell dismissed the horrific rape gangs scandal as 'little trumpet'PAPowell later apologised on social media, claiming she was challenging "political point scoring" rather than the issue itself.
In the same GB News interview, Oliver made the explosive claim that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is "complicit" in covering up child sex grooming gangs.
"I spoke in January about this because in my opinion, he is complicit," Oliver told the programme.
She pointed to Starmer's previous role as Director of Public Prosecutions during the Rochdale grooming gang cases.
Oliver recounted her experience supporting a victim who was made pregnant at 13, whose abuser served just over three years in prison.
"As Director of Public Prosecutions, in my opinion, there is no doubt that he knew what charges were being brought," she said.
Oliver revealed she has launched a campaign called #TheyKnew with other survivors, working with lawyers and barristers to bring those at the top of public institutions to justice.
The campaign aims to pursue private prosecutions or civil actions against officials involved in covering up abuse.
"The time for talking has long gone," Oliver stated.
She criticised the government for failing to implement recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
Oliver said she had threatened judicial review in January, with the government promising a timeline by Easter that has yet to materialise.
She also claimed Starmer had accused victims and whistleblowers like herself of being "far-right extremists".
