Victims of the grooming gangs and their families have accused the Leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell of "totally dismissing" their abuse after suggesting their ordeal was a "dog whistle" issue. The Manchester Central MP was told she "should be ashamed" by her comments, made during a lively debate on the BBC with Reform backer Tim Montgomerie.

Sarah Wilson, who was abused for years from the age of 11 by paedophile gangs in Rotherham, said Ms Powell's attitude was evidence of “what victims and survivors have been up against all these years”. Ms Wilson, who now campaigns on the issue, was one of at least 1,400 children in the South Yorkshire market town to be groomed and raped by gangs of men of predominantly Pakistani heritage between 1997 and 2013.

Ms Powell's remarks came during a discussion on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions on Friday. During the programme, Tim Montgomerie, a former Conservative supporter who has since come out for Reform, asked her if had seen a Channel 4 documentary “about rape gangs”.

The 50-year-old interrupted him and replied: "Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Yeah, OK, let’s get that dog whistle out."

Sharing a clip of the interjection by Ms Powell, Ms Wilson wrote: "This is what victims and survivors have been up against all these years. This is why we weren’t listened to. They never cared, and they never will. [They] totally dismissed survivors and our experiences of being groomed."

Greater Manchester-based grooming gang survivor Scarlett, 20, who appeared in the documentary, also criticised Ms Powell, along with her father Marlon.

He told the Telegraph: "Scarlett and I, who shared our story in the documentary despite the emotional challenges, are outraged by Lucy Powell. We feel abused and disrespected once again, and we did not anticipate this kind of treatment from our government leaders.

"You have used us as a political tool for an excuse to be critical towards Conservatives rather than supporting a public inquiry. You should be ashamed."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said his Cabinet colleague will stay in her role but added that she felt “mortified”.

The Ilford North MP was asked by Sky’s Trevor Phillips whether Ms Powell would be able to stay in her position, Mr Streeting replied: “Yes. I think she made a genuine mistake, she’s owned up to it, she said sorry and we’ll move on.”

In a statement, Ms Powell said: "I would like to clarify that I regard issues of child exploitation and grooming with the utmost seriousness.

"I’m sorry if this was unclear. I was challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself. As a constituency MP, I’ve dealt with horrendous cases. This Government is acting to get to the truth and deliver justice."