The last remaining candidate to chair the grooming gang inquiry has withdrawn from contention after survivors raised concerns that he had links to the police.
Jim Gamble, a former police officer in Northern Ireland, hit out at politicians prioritising “their own petty personal or political issues” and “playing games” with the inquiry as he took his name out of the running on Wednesday, plunging the probe into further chaos.
In outspoken comments, Mr Gamble blamed people “using and abusing” their position for victims being “disrespected and misinformed” over the investigation, which has been hit by allegations of a cover-up.
He later criticised those “who have been mischief-making” by highlighting his former police career, saying it was “nonsense” to imply that he would align himself “with any political party to hide their blushes”.
Mr Gamble’s withdrawal came a day after Annie Hudson, another candidate for the role who was a former director of children’s services for Lambeth, removed her name, leaving the government scrambling for alternatives.
Sir Keir Starmer had earlier announced that he was drafting in Louise Casey to “support” the work of the struggling probe after four women from the inquiry’s victims and survivors panel resigned, stating a “toxic environment”. They also claimed there were proposals to widen the scope of the inquiry, which the Home Office has denied.
Asked why he stepped back, Mr Gamble, who also led the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command of the National Crime Agency until 2010, told Sky News: “I think the growing level of toxicity and the fact that in the midst of lots of misinformation, I think many of the victims and survivors were being disrespected and misinformed, and have a genuine feeling that some of that was about people using and abusing their position and influence with them.”
He added: “Everybody needs to park their own petty personal or political issues and focus on what’s right for victims.
“In stepping back, I am trying to do that, but these other individuals need to stop playing games with this, because actually this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
He also warned that the right chair must be found urgently because “the longer you wait, the more stale the evidence will get, the more people who need to be held to account will move on and retire or die”.
A Home Office spokesperson said they were “disappointed” that candidates had withdrawn.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir had attempted to salvage the struggling probe by announcing that Baroness Casey would “support the work” of the inquiry, which he said would “get to the truth”.
He told MPs that “injustice will have no place to hide”, adding that the “door will always be open” to those survivors who quit the probe’s survivors’ panel, should they wish to return.
Responding to Kemi Badenoch, Sir Keir said: “The inquiry is not and will never be watered down. Its scope will not change.”
Baroness Casey previously led a national audit of group-based child sexual exploitation that found “many examples” of organisations shying away from discussion of ethnicity or cultural factors in such offences “for fear of appearing racist”.
Her findings, published in June 2025, prompted Sir Keir to order the creation of the national inquiry.
The resignations of Fiona Goddard, Ellie-Ann Reynolds and two other unnamed women from the victims and survivors panel have created uncertainty around the probe.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has also faced calls to resign, with Ms Goddard accusing the MP of calling her a “liar” after she disputed allegations that the inquiry is being watered down.
In a letter to the home secretary, Mr Gamble said that there was a “highly charged and toxic environment” surrounding the appointment process. He also said that, among some victims and survivors, there is a “lack of confidence due to my previous occupation”.
“I made a commitment that if this consensus of trust was not present, I would not proceed, and I must now be true to my word,” he wrote.
He added: “The reaction to the appointment process has been defined more by the vested interests of some, as well as political opportunism and point-scoring, rather than by the cross-party consensus required to address such a serious national issue.
“Victims and survivors, who have been let down so often in the past, deserve better than to be used as leverage for short-term gain by anyone. Moving forward. I hope they remain at the absolute centre of this inquiry.”
A Home Office spokesperson said on Wednesday: “The grooming gang scandal was one of the darkest moments in this country’s history.
“That is why this government is committed to a full, statutory, national inquiry to uncover the truth. It is the very least that the victims of these hideous crimes deserve.
“We are disappointed that candidates to chair that inquiry have withdrawn. This is an extremely sensitive topic, and we have to take the time to appoint the best person suitable for the role.
“The home secretary has been clear: there will be no hiding place for those who abused the most vulnerable in our society.”
