Grooming gang survivors make plea to ‘put politics aside’ ahead of new inquiry

Exclusive: Telford survivors say people are ‘exploiting the exploited’ and push for women to shape investigation

The political “tug-of-war with vulnerable women” abused by grooming gangs must stop ahead of a new national inquiry into the crimes, survivors have told the Guardian.

Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, two survivors who played a key role in a “gold-standard” local inquiry into the crime in Telford, have urged politicians and those without experience of abuse to allow women to shape the investigation.