Labour minister Jess Phillips has complained to MPs that her decision to reject an independent national inquiry into rape gangs has taken a toll on her personally. Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, the minister for violence against women and girls rejected any suggestion that the decision to block such an inquiry was to avoid anger from Muslim voters.

The comment came in response to a question from Conservative MP Sir Ashley Fox, who cited a claim by former race equality commissioner Sir Trevor Phillips. Sir Ashley asked: “My constituents are horrified by the Government’s failure to order a national inquiry into the child rape gang scandal. Does the minister share the concerns raised by Sir Trevor Phillips that the decisions made by the Government appear to be obviously political, and designed to avoid offending Muslim voters of Pakistani origin?”

Ms Philips condemned the allegation, arguing that “the easiest thing for me to have done in this situation would have been to capitulate”.

She added: “But I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. I believe from my years of work and speaking to the victims, and working in Telford with those victims about what changed afterwards, I believe genuinely…

“I wouldn’t stand here if I didn’t believe it. And the idea that I am trying to protect something of myself – this process has brought, I have to say, it has not been protecting of me.”

She concluded that the allegation from Sir Ashley was a “disgraceful thing to say”.

However, Ms Phillips has repeatedly been attacked with the claim that she is trying to save her parliamentary career after almost losing her seat last year to a Left-wing pro-Gaza candidate.

The Birmingham Yardley MP’s majority collapsed in the 2024 General Election from 10,659 to just 693 as Jody McIntyre, of George Galloway’s Workers’ Party, surged.

Ms Phillips was also questioned by Reform UK’s Lee Anderson, whose intervention was met with cries of “shame” by Labour MPs.

The Reform UK chief whip asked: “Thousands of white girls have been raped, tortured and abused by Pakistani grooming gangs.

“And yet this minister here refuses to support a full national public inquiry.”

He asked if Ms Phillips was “part of the cover-up”.

The minister hit back: “It doesn’t deserve a response. And I actually quite like the honourable gentleman. I have spent my entire career helping … I wonder how many victims he has sat and held hands with in court of grooming gangs, how many he’s gone around to their house in the morning to get them out of bed to get them into a courtroom.

“There is absolutely no way that I would be part of any cover-up. I will do everything I can.”