Tory MP: BBC Not ‘Standing Up for White Working Class’ After Ignoring Telford Scandal

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Liam Deacon

A Tory MP has slammed the BBC for not “standing up for [the] white working class” after the corporation was accused of ignoring revelations about the Telford grooming gang scandal.

Lucy Allan MP, who represents the people of Telford, said she was pushing to ask an urgent question in parliament on Tuesday, as well as revealing she will be demanding an inquiry into the scandal, which could be the largest in the UK’s history.

The BBC took until midday on Monday to publish a full story on the revelation in the Sunday Mirror that 1,000 girls could have been affected by the scandal, and did not feature the story on their main or UK news homepage.

Furthermore, when reporting the death of 16-year-old Lucy Lowe at the hands of her 26-year-old abuser in 2001, the BBC chose to describe the victim as the rapist’s “girlfriend”.

The abuse in the town went on for more than 40 years, and there are signs political correctness, a culture of silence, and fear of accusations of racism allowed the situation to continue for so long – similar to the abuse scandal in Rotherham and other English towns.

The Mirror also revealed that a charity worker and a police chaplain were punished and silenced when they tried to raise the alarm about the abuse, with one losing their job completely.

One victim spoke to ITV’s This Morning show on Monday, explaining how police and authorities ignored signs, including finding her in cars with abusers and her being forced to collect the morning after pill multiple times a week after being raped.

“I feel angry that we’re being denied an inquiry in Telford. Personally, I’m not shocked at the scale of the abuse because I saw it with my own eyes,” the victim added.

As the shocking revelations continue to emerge, calls for a full public inquiry, as seen in Rotherham, are growing.

“There must now be an independent inquiry into CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Telford so that our community can have absolute confidence in the authorities,” Ms. Allan said in a statement.

“In the light of these new allegations, I would urge the authorities in Telford to commission an independent inquiry at the earliest opportunity,” she added.

Javed Khan, the chief executive of Barnardo’s, the child protection charity, also backed a public inquiry, saying on Monday: “The scale of the abuse in Telford is deeply shocking and those responsible must be held accountable for any failings uncovered.”

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