Grooming gang survivor sends stark message to Andy Burnham as she delivers petition to Downing Street: 'We must be heard!'

A grooming gang survivor has handed a stark message to Prime Minister Andy Burnham as she delivered a letter and petition to Downing Street on behalf of fellow victims.

Speaking to GB News, Jade Belgrove declared that victims and survivors "must be heard" as she urged the Government to take "urgent action" on the early release prison scheme.

Having handed her letter and petition in to Downing Street, Ms Belgrove said that survivors of abuse are "fed up" of being ignored by the Government.

She said: "We need to be heard. We're all fed up with being silenced. We're all fed up of what they're doing and the trauma they're putting us through after all we've been through already.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

"So we had no other option than to address it directly, which is what we've all done today."

Representing the survivors, solicitor Amy Clowrey told GB News that victims have been left "horrified" by the prospect of their abusers being released early from prison.

She explained: "They're telling me that this is absolutely horrifying, and they are scared to leave the house, and their mental health has deteriorated, and they're thinking about moving houses.

"And frankly, survivors shouldn't have to do that. They've been through enough, and Andy Burnham needs to listen."

Asked by reporter Charlie Peters if she believes victims and survivors have been "overlooked" in the debate of who should be eligible for early release, Ms Belgrove agreed.

She said: "I don't take away anything that happened to PC Harper, it's absolutely disgusting and the killers should not be released a day earlier than their family was promised.

"But equally, again, it's the survivors being ignored and not addressed when we need it. We were shouting about this for weeks before it happened, so we should have been addressed a lot earlier and it should have been dealt with a lot earlier.

"So again, it's just us being let down."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Andy Burnham accused of having 'no political will' to prioritise grooming gang victims
• Grooming gang survivors demand 'urgent action' from Andy Burnham over early release prison scheme
• Andy Burnham facing 'defining moment' as Prime Minister with early release prison scheme decision

As Charlie pointed out that Parliament will need to be recalled from recess in order to change the current legislation on early release, Ms Clowrey made clear that it is "already too late" for them to be acting on the backlash from survivors.

She told GB News: "I'm afraid that this is too serious an issue to not be dealt with sooner rather than later, because all that will happen if we wait until the recess is over is the additional anxiety for survivors, and that is just not fair.

"When this is a Government failure, they need to sort it out. Frankly, it should have been dealt with before the recess. It's already too late, so they need to get back and sort this out."

Ms Belgrove echoed the thoughts of Ms Clowrey, adding: "It's protecting our communities and our country, so if they want to be in power and the legislators and for the people to believe in them and trust them, they need to get back and do exactly this."

Asked what message they would give to Mr Burnham after handing in their letter and petition, Ms Clowrey simply said: "Act swiftly and listen to survivors."

Ms Belgrove concluded: "Do the right thing. This needs to happen now, it's been too long."

The Prime Minister has said of the pause in the scheme: "Keeping the public safe will always be my top priority. I am working closely with the new Justice Secretary and have instructed my team to put a pause on the changes that were due to start in September.

"No prisoners will be let out under this policy until we have conducted an urgent review and done everything we can to minimise risk to the public. Where changes are needed, we will not hesitate to make them."

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter