logo
Labour minister sorry for ‘dog-whistle' remark over grooming film

Labour minister sorry for ‘dog-whistle' remark over grooming film

Times04-05-2025
A cabinet minister has been forced to apologise after suggesting that people who raised concerns about grooming gangs were engaged in 'dog whistle' politics.
The Conservatives called for Lucy Powell, the leader of the House of Commons, to resign after she appeared to dismiss the victims of sexual abuse during a BBC debate.
Powell interrupted Tim Montgomerie, the political commentator and Reform UK supporter, when he raised a recent documentary about women who had been groomed and abused by gangs during an edition of BBC Radio 4's Any Questions.
• Groomed: A National Scandal review — enraging, harrowing stories
'Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let's get that dog whistle out, shall we?' she said.Powell later apologised, saying
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Isle of Wight Reform UK councillor resigns after four months
Isle of Wight Reform UK councillor resigns after four months

BBC News

timea minute ago

  • BBC News

Isle of Wight Reform UK councillor resigns after four months

A newly elected Reform UK councillor has resigned his seat after coming under pressure over Thursday, Conservative councillor Paul Brading said David Maclean should "consider his position" after failing to attend three meetings of the island children's services said Mr Maclean had stepped down from the authority for "personal reasons".Previously, the party said he had been dealing with a serious illness in the family. Mr Maclean was not present at the 2 May by-election count where he won his Lake North seat or his initiation ceremony at County Hall. At the time, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told by Reform's press office his absences were due to a family Thursday, the island's other Reform councillor, Caroline Gladwin, told the children's services meeting she would probably be taking over from him on the seized control of nine English authorities in May's local elections, winning 677 of around 1,600 seats then, newly elected Reform councillors have stepped down in other councils including Doncaster, Durham, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.

Katsina mosque attack: Gunmen in Nigeria kill Muslim worshippers
Katsina mosque attack: Gunmen in Nigeria kill Muslim worshippers

BBC News

timea minute ago

  • BBC News

Katsina mosque attack: Gunmen in Nigeria kill Muslim worshippers

Gunmen in north-west Nigeria have stormed a mosque, killing Muslim worshippers in what the local government has called a "reprisal attack".Police in Katsina state said 17 worshippers were shot dead by the assailants - known locally as bandits - but other reports from the region say the death toll is mosque, located in the village of Unguwan Mantau, was attacked on Tuesday because local residents had ambushed and killed a number of "bandits" two days earlier, Katsina state official Nasir Muazu is rife in north-western Nigeria, where armed gangs target locals, often for financial gain. Muazu, Katsina state's commissioner for internal security, said the attack occurred during morning prayers and that the gunmen shot "sporadically".As of Wednesday afternoon, the attackers remained at large. Muazu said the police and military personnel had been deployed to find the reprisal, Muazu said the local government "reaffirms its unwavering support for community-based security initiatives".Residents of Unguwan Mantau, meanwhile, have been mourning and tending to the wounded. As per tradition, grieving families have been sitting outside their homes, accepting condolences from Isa Pantami, a popular Islamic cleric and Nigeria's former communications minister, hit out at the killers, saying they "betray the sense of humanity on earth"."We urge the relevant security agencies to ensure the arrest of the criminals and bring an end to this inhumanity and criminality of the highest order," he wrote in a statement posted to social media."The killers of defenceless people are heartless, malevolent, and worse than animals."Nigeria's vast north-west region borders Niger and criminal gangs criss-cross between the two countries, evading and neighbouring state Zamfara have been hit the hardest by banditry in the region, losing the most lives and experiencing the most displacement as a result of the days ago, kidnappers in Zamfara abducted and killed at least 35 people, despite ransoms being paid for their release, a local official told the BBC. More BBC stories on Nigeria: Nigeria's kidnap crisis: Inside story of a ransom negotiatorScores of bandits killed in air and ground raids, Nigerian military saysAid cuts will push Nigerians into arms of Boko Haram militants, UN warns Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

Suranne Jones details 'rambunctious' experience shadowing Keir Starmer for thriller role
Suranne Jones details 'rambunctious' experience shadowing Keir Starmer for thriller role

Daily Mirror

time28 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

Suranne Jones details 'rambunctious' experience shadowing Keir Starmer for thriller role

Suranne Jones has opened up about her 'rambunctious' experience shadowing Keir Starmer for her new Netflix thriller and detailed one fiery moment in particular Suranne Jones has opened up about her 'rambunctious' experience shadowing Keir Starmer for her new Netflix thriller. ‌ The former Coronation Street actress, 46, is now starring as fictional Prime Minister Abigail Dalton in Hostage, and follows the events that unfold after her character attends a summit with the French president Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy) and her husband is kidnapped. ‌ As part of her research for the role, Suranne took a trip to Downing Street and ventured into the House of Commons, where she managed to catch a heated moment with the real-life Prime Minister. Speaking on Wednesday's edition of This Morning, she told hosts Sian Welby and Craig Doyle: "I did go to the House of Commons. It was great because when we then built our set, I'd been in the actual place. We did see Keir Starmer having a...[debate] it was quite rambunctious." ‌ The actress noted her disbelief at watching it all take place in front of her as she added: "There was a lot of shouting in there. You don't believe it til you see it!" The UK has only seen two female Prime Ministers in its time, with the late Margaret Thatcher having served a leader of the Conservative party from 1979 until 1990. In October 2022, Liz Truss became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the country's history having managed to survive just 50 days in office. Suranne noted the lack of females in such a role of power but approached the role with a 'fresh' perspective, which she believes was necessary when taking into account the current political climate. She said: "We haven't got a lot of women to look at, have we? But that's another great thing. What I did and women in power, I wanted Abigail to be a fresh set of eyes, and the political landscape as it is, we needed that as it is." However, Suranne, who has carved out a stellar career in drama since leaving her role as Karen McDonald on ITV's flagship soap more than two decades ago, recently admitted she wouldn't want to take on the top job at number 10 in real life, mainly because of the amount of 'baggage' her new alter-ego has to carry round. ‌ She said: "A woman, before she's even put on her very high, hurty shoes, she has a lot of baggage and a lot of things that she is carrying: the way she looks, the way she dresses, the way she's been educated. "All of those things. How she behaves with her family or her background, everything, before she starts to go out into the world and getting judged for it. "Obviously, I'm well known. People recognise me. I try to keep a private element to my life, but then I do want to show support of the charities I work for and all of that stuff, and the community theatre that I like to give elevation to, so I drew on a lot of that stuff. But I wouldn't want to be a prime minister." ‌ She continued: "The early name for the show was The Choice and I think that's the thing, the choice of wanting a job like that, the choice of your family or your country. "It blows my mind, I can't even imagine... obviously, I had to because I play the prime minister, so I did have to imagine. But these big, big choices, they're huge and so it's just making people think." The five-part political thriller witnesses Dalton being blackmailed following her husband's kidnapping whilst he's working overseas, with the captors threatening his murder unless she steps down from office.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store