Farage toxifies abuse inquiry as victims demand apology

On 28 October, we reported that Nigel Farage had inserted himself into the latest UK grooming gangs inquiry. In that piece, we covered that a former employee had accused him of opportunism. We also highlighted that Farage may not be the best person to speak out on this topic given his support for convicted rapist Donald Trump, or the fact that he refused to clearly condemn the alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate:

A man is judged by the company he keeps. pic.twitter.com/vOZLwzKTje

— Reform Party UK Exposed 🇬🇧 (@reformexposed) October 28, 2025

Since then, Farage’s involvement has further toxified the potential inquiry, with several abuse victims demanding an apology from the Reform leader:

EXCL: Five women have asked for an apology from Nigel Farage after he suggested they weren’t victims of grooming gangs.

They said that, while they had been abused by Asian men, they were “aware the inquiry is not just about us” and the comments were “degrading and humiliating”.

— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) October 29, 2025

Politicising abuse

Earlier this week, Farage held a press conference with Ellie-Ann Reynolds. Reynolds is a survivor of a grooming gang, and is notable for having left the victim panel of the latest inquiry following a dispute with Labour MP Jess Phillips:

‘The way [Jess Phillips] conducted herself was absolutely appalling… which is why I’ve called for her to stand down.’

Grooming gang survivor Ellie Reynolds, who quit the inquiry last week, has called the national inquiry into the matter ‘corrupt’. pic.twitter.com/luHB95QAT6

— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 27, 2025

At the press conference, Farage called for a ‘Parliament-led commission’ into the issue of grooming gangs. By its nature, such a commission would be highly politicised from the start. The problem is that the public already mistrust politicians on this topic, as YouGov polling showed in June:

At this point, it will be difficult to establish an inquiry which enjoys broad public support. At the same time, one of the worst possible options seems to be an inquiry which is spearheaded by political leaders.

In addition to Reynolds, two other members of the victim panel stepped down. In contrast, five members said they would only remain if Phillips stayed.

It was at this point that Nigel Farage stepped in.

Farage intervenes

Demonstrating how unsuitable he is, Farage responded to this turn of events by claiming:

Five of the grooming gang victims, those that feel insulted like Ellie have withdrawn from the inquiry, but you’ll be told there are five who insist that Jess Phillips stays in place and that the inquiry continues.

But here’s the truth about the other five, just as I said at the start of this press conference, there are two very distinctly different groups of young people who were sexually abused and raped by adults.

And what has happened with this inquiry is the Government have quite deliberately from the very start, widened the scope out from those who were victims of Pakistani grooming gangs and brought in other women.

The women responded:

Nigel Farage should apologise.

What he said about us is categorically untrue, saying we shouldn’t be on the panel because we are watering it down and we are survivors of other abuse, not grooming gangs. We are survivors of grooming and grooming gangs.

Farage’s lack of knowledge and assumptions about our experiences as victims and survivors of grooming gangs proves he should not have a platform to make decisions about us or our input.

His ignorance and untrue statements about us, our experiences and the validity of our involvement, his lack of understanding or care to look into our lives to make sure what he was saying was true, has meant he has dismissed people who this inquiry is for.

Providing further context, the Guardian wrote:

Two of the group have written memoirs about their experiences of predominantly Asian grooming gangs, using the pseudonyms Scarlett Jones and Caitlin Spencer.

Two more survivors, using the pseudonyms Claire and Katie, said they felt unable to share details of their abuse “through fear of their safety”, but insisted they were victims of “traditional” grooming gangs.

The Guardian adds that these women wanted the focus to include “group-based exploitation [which began] online, through peers or family members”.

Point scoring

When you have two groups of victims taking opposite stances, it obviously becomes very difficult to move forwards. At the same time, it shouldn’t be hard to understand that misrepresenting one group will only toxify the situation further.

At this point, it’s unclear if Farage lied about these women or if he simply has no idea what he’s talking about. Either way, he remains entirely unsuitable for the role he’s forced himself into.

Featured image via Nigel Farage (YouTube)