Grooming gangs inquiry 'won't be watered down', home sec vows - as more survivors quit panel

The national inquiry into grooming gangs will leave "no hiding place" for those involved in the scandal, the home secretary has warned.

Shabana Mahmood's vow comes amid accusations the inquiry is "descending into chaos" - with Home Office minister Jess Phillips being accused of a "lie" for disputing allegations that the inquiry is being diluted. Three survivors have resigned from its liaison panel in recent days over concerns about how the process is being handled, while a frontrunner to chair the inquiry has also pulled out.

While Ms Mahmood acknowledged there are frustrations about the pace of progress towards launching the inquiry - which had been announced back in June - she said its scope "will not change". In an article for The Times, she vowed the probe "will never be watered down on my watch" - and said it will focus on how "some of the most vulnerable people in this country" were abused "at the hands of predatory monsters".

"In time, we came to know this as the 'grooming gangs' scandal, though I have never thought the name matched the scale of the evil. We must call them what they were: evil child rapists," Ms Mahmood wrote.

Read more:Grooming gangs scandal timeline: What happened? Fiona Goddard resigned from the liaison panel after citing a "toxic, fearful environment" and "condescending and controlling language" used towards survivors. Ellie Reynolds also quit - saying the "final turning point" was the "push to widen the remit of the national inquiry in ways that downplay the racial and religious motivations behind our abuse".

A third known as Elizabeth - which is not her real name - followed yesterday afternoon. Ms Mahmood said "the door will always remain open to them" if they decide to return to the liaison panel.

"But even if they do not, I owe it to them - and the country - to answer some of the concerns that they have raised," she added. The home secretary also insisted the inquiry will be "robust and rigorous" - with the power to compel witnesses, and examine the ethnicity and religion of the offenders.

'Fearful environment' Some of their fears centred around the perceived prospect of the inquiry being diluted by broadening its scope beyond group-based sexual abuse, and pushes for it to have a regional focus rather than it being truly national. Ms Phillips, the Home Office minister, said this was "untrue".

Ms Goddard responded to say: "This is a lie." Read more from Sky News:Phillips condemns 'idiot' councils that don't believe in grooming gang problemsLeading candidates to chair grooming gangs inquiry revealed As well as alleging a 'toxic, fearful environment' within the liaison panel, Ms Goddard's resignation letter, which Sky News published extracts from on Monday, expressed deep reservations about the shortlisted chairs for the inquiry. Her resignation came after Sky News revealed the two leading candidates were former police chief Jim Gamble and social worker Annie Hudson, who were due to meet the survivors panel on Tuesday, before Ms Hudson withdrew from the running.

Some survivors expressed concern that the two candidates' backgrounds in policing and social work might lead to conflicts of interest..