A rape gang survivor has issued a blistering and heartbreaking open letter to Labour minister Lucy Powell after the MP appeared to downplay concerns over child sex exploitation, branding them a political “dog whistle”.
In a searing response that lays bare the raw pain of years of abuse and betrayal, Samantha Smith – a survivor of the Telford rape scandal and a leading campaigner for victims of child sexual exploitation accused the Labour Party and politicians like Powell of turning a blind eye to decades of systemic abuse.
Smith, who was first sexually abused at the age of five, says Powell’s dismissive comments reflect a wider culture of institutional failure, political cowardice, and wilful ignorance that has left countless girls raped, silenced, and shamed.
“You think child rape is a ‘dog whistle’? Well, I was sexually abused from five years old,” she writes. “And it’s politicians like you that are the reason little girls like me are still being raped, exploited and murdered across the country.”
Her powerful words come after Powell, the Leader of the House of Commons, was criticised for suggesting during an interview that raising concerns about predominantly Pakistani grooming gangs was being used as a divisive political tactic.
But for Samantha Smith and the thousands of other girls failed by the very institutions meant to protect them, those words were a fresh wound, a reminder that their suffering continues to be dismissed as inconvenient or inflammatory.
“In my hometown, those in power dismissed victims as troublemakers, ‘Paki shaggers’, and white slags,” she writes. “They stood by and did nothing while young girls were being brutally abused.”
Smith recounts her harrowing experience of being blamed by detectives and social workers for the abuse she suffered, including being asked whether she had consented and told that her actions had led her there.
“The system criminalised the victims, rather than going after the perpetrators,” she writes. “I spent years in silence because I thought I would somehow be judged or penalised for the abuse I had suffered.”
Her letter also calls out the Labour-led Telford Council, which resisted calls for an independent inquiry for years, a delay many campaigners believe allowed the abuse to continue unchecked.
“Their Council Leader, now the MP for Telford, along with 10 other powerful local men, even wrote a letter to the Home Secretary saying they felt an inquiry was unnecessary,” Smith recalls.
The Telford scandal, which exploded into the public eye in 2015 and was laid bare in the damning Crowther Report in 2022, exposed how authorities failed to protect hundreds of girls over a 40-year period. Yet Smith warns the problem is far from over.
“This isn’t a 60-second-and-then-done issue. For change to occur, there needs to be constant attention,” she pleads. “Otherwise, silence and ignorance only serve to support the predators and paedophiles.”
Smith also condemns what she calls the “institutional blindness and contempt” that allowed entire communities to be sacrificed “at the altar of political correctness”, as she accuses politicians of caring more about optics than justice.
“CSE is not a dog whistle,” she writes. “It is a national epidemic. But those in power like Lucy Powell refuse to address that fact for fear of being forced to confront their decades-long failure to protect young girls from abuse.”
Her message ends with a damning indictment of the political class:
“Shame on Lucy Powell. Shame on Labour. Shame on all of them.”
The Post has contacted Lucy Powell MP and the Labour Party for a response.
Read Samantha Smith’s letter to Labour Minister Lucy Powell in full:
Dear Lucy Powell MP,
You think child rape is a “dog whistle”? Well, I was sexually abused from 5 years old. And it’s politicians like 𝙮𝙤𝙪 that are the reason little girls like me are still being raped, exploited and murdered across the country.
In my hometown, those in power dismissed victims as 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙥𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 and 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙨.
They shamed and intimidated little girls like me into silence. They accused us of lying, or putting ourselves in risky situations, or even 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 to be raped. They stood by and did nothing while young girls were being brutally abused. And, as many other girls systematically groomed in Telford have testified, I was made to feel as though I was to blame.
The system criminalised the victims, rather than going after the perpetrators. I remember being asked by a detective whether I “consented” at any point to sexual activity, and told by a social worker that “my actions had led me to where I was today”. All the while the Labour-led council tried to block an independent inquiry into CSE for years and their Council Leader (now the MP for Telford), along with 10 other powerful local men, even wrote a letter to the Home Secretary saying they felt an inquiry would unnecessary.
In Rotherham, Rochdale and elsewhere, victims were continually swept aside by those in positions of power, as if they chose this lifestyle. The attitudes that social workers, local services, authorities had towards children was so skewed, and so deeply unprofessional. It broke me. And I spent years in silence because I thought I would somehow be judged or penalised for the abuse I had suffered. Because I had been conditioned to feel like I was somehow responsible for my own victimisation.
The Telford scandal made headlines when it broke in 2015, then again when the Crowther Report was released in 2022. Yet, The news cycle moved on far too quickly. This isn’t a 60-second-and-then-done issue. For change to occur, there needs to be constant attention brought to this issue because, otherwise, silence and ignorance only serves to support the predators and the paedophiles. This is a crime that thrives on misinformation, on fears of “racism” and a lack of awareness, and on being swept under the rug.
They rely on girls not being taken seriously, the media not caring and the police not taking any action to investigate. These are not crimes of the past. Kids are still being exploited, groomed, raped and even murdered in council estates like mine. It isn’t enough to have empty words and hollow promises. CSE is not a “dog whistle”. It is a national epidemic. But those in power like Lucy Powell refuse to address that fact for fear of being forced to confront their decades-long failure to protect young girls from abuse.
It’s easier to ignore victims, especially when they come from communities, social classes or demographics that are already disenfranchised in Britain. And for those who do speak out, it feels like you are screaming at a brick wall that would rather label you as the problem than take you seriously. Our trauma isn’t a “dog-whistle” or a “trumpet” to blow against the Labour Party.
It is the harrowing reality of the institutional blindness and contempt that allowed little girls to be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness, while politicians sneered and branded us troublemakers and attention-seekers for daring to want justice.
Shame on Lucy Powell. Shame on Labour. Shame on all of them.
