Dear readers — It’s been a turbulent seven days for Yardley MP Jess Phillips who, as safeguarding minister, has been tasked with setting up an inquiry into child exploitation by grooming gangs. She’s facing heat from many corners, not least five abuse survivors who want her gone, claiming she is overseeing a potential Labour ‘cover-up’ and wants to water down the scope of the probe. But another group of survivors has rallied round the minister, threatening to quit unless she stays. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are circling. That is today’s Big Story.
In your Brum in Brief, there is the disturbing news that another racially motivated rape has taken place in the West Midlands, just weeks after a woman was assaulted in Oldbury. Elsewhere, the results of the Moseley by-election are in and the Liberal Democrats now have complete control over the ward. Plus, Samuel visited the reopening of BMAG’s glorious Pre-Raphelites collection.
Catch up and coming up:
- Birmingham’s indoor Bullring Markets building has been approved for demolition in 2027, leaving dozens of market traders in limbo. We sent Samuel out to cover the market traders situation back in January 2025. Catch up below:
Samuel McIlhagga
- Kate published a stonking weekend read on Saturday, exploring the fall out between the original members of Birmingham post-punk band Au Pairs — and an abiding question: who exactly wrote the bands’ songs?
- Earlier in the week, Matty Edwards’s piece on Birmingham’s bankruptcy got r/Brum on Reddit talking.
- Finally, we were saddened to learn that Tony Adams, star of Crossroads, has died. Tony spoke to the Dispatch for this article about the iconic soap, telling us about his memories, including the time he and his co-star Noele ‘Nolly’ Gordon drove to Wales in her Rolls Royce: “It was pouring with rain, and her Rolls had four doors, with four speakers, and we opened those doors, had music playing, and we danced in the pouring rain and drank champagne.”
Photo of the week
Somewhere under a motorway in Birmingham. Photo: @colatron.
Can you identify this spot? Let us know.
Big Story: Jess Phillips fights back amid calls to resign
Topline: Fierce division has blighted the setting up of an inquiry into grooming gangs, with Jess Phillips facing calls to resign.
Context: The early stages of a national inquiry into sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs are in turmoil. Some survivors have accused the government of a “cover up” and say they won’t engage with the process unless Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips steps down. But another group of survivors has backed her, saying they won’t carry on unless she stays.
‘Cover up’ accusations: Last Monday, Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds were the first survivors to step down from a panel of about 30 who have been invited to guide the inquiry. In open letters, they described a “toxic, controlling” environment and suggested the inquiry had become a cover up. They are especially concerned that an attempt to broaden the inquiry’s remit to include abuse not by grooming gangs will “downplay the racial and religious motivations” behind their abuse.
Philips’ response: On Tuesday, Jess Phillips published an open letter claiming that “misinformation” was swirling about the inquiry and denying any cover up. A further two anonymous survivors then stood down, agreeing with Goddard and Reynolds.
Growing dissent: The four victims wrote an open letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood setting out five conditions to rejoin the panel. Top of the list was a demand for Jess Phillips to resign. They wrote: “her conduct over the last week has shown she is unfit to oversee a process that requires survivors to trust the government.” A fifth survivor, who has remained on the panel, has since accused Phillips of “betrayal” and also urged her to stand down.
Tories join the throng: Speaking to GB News, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch labelled Phillips the “worst safeguarding minister ever” and said the inquiry would benefit from “having someone serious doing the job.” When Political Editor Christopher Hope pointed out that, as Women and Equalities Minister from 2022 to 2024, she could have done more, Badenoch argued that her party had set up a grooming task force.
Meanwhile, the government’s search for an inquiry chairperson has imploded, as the group of survivors also cast doubt on the selection process. They accused the government of shortlisting “establishment insiders” former social worker Annie Hudson and former police officer Jim Gamble for the role. Both have since walked away, with Gamble blaming political “point-scoring” for creating a “highly charged and toxic environment.”
But Phillips has the government’s backing: Keir Starmer has said he has faith in Phillips to continue setting up the inquiry. Josh MacAlister, the children’s minister, said Phillips had the “full backing of the prime minister and the home secretary.”
She has also been boosted by five more survivors on the panel who contacted Starmer and Mahmood to say they will only continue if Phillips does. They said “Jess was clear that the focus would be on grooming gangs”, but they asked for the scope to be bigger, so that more survivors whose experiences did not fit the “generalised stereotype" of a grooming gang would be included. (The Guardian).
Bottom line: Survivors’ opinions of Jess Phillips are divided but she has the backing of her government, even while the Conservatives are calling for her to go. The search for a new chairperson could prove a major setback — it is expected to take months to find an alternative.
Brum in Brief:
❗Only a few weeks after the racially motivated rape of a Sikh woman in Oldbury, there has been a similar sexual assault in Walsall. A 32-year-old man has today been arrested on suspicion of rape after a police appeal was launched to search for “a white man in his 30s, with short hair and dark clothing.” In a statement issued by West Midlands Police, Deputy Superintendent Ronan Tyrer said: “this was an absolutely appalling attack on a young woman, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to arrest the person responsible.” Preet Gill, the Sikh Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston reacted to the rape, posting on X that: “The repeated pattern of violence against women in our region, compounded by hate and racial overtones, is deeply disturbing.”
🟨 The Liberal Democrats claimed victory in last week’s Moseley by-election, a tight race between the Lib Dems, Labour and local left-wing independent Carol Williams. Philip Mills won the vote by a majority of 485 votes, narrowly beating Labour’s Stephen Pihlaja. During his victory speech, Mills said: "After the years of incompetence and failures, it is clear that it is the Liberal Democrats who are bringing the fight to an incompetent and worn-out Labour-run council." Mills joins his Liberal Democrat Moseley colleague councillor Izzy Knowles.
Samuel McIlhagga
🏗️ A multi-million pound regeneration project in the south Birmingham estate of Druid’s Heath has been narrowly approved by Birmingham City Council, sparking anger from some local residents. Around 30 unhappy residents turned up to the meeting to protest, chanting “shame on you” as councillors oversaw the decision which will see the delivery of up to 3,500 new homes, green space and transport links. The old 1960s tower blocks that define the estate are to be knocked down — potentially pushing preexisting residents out of the area. However, councillor Nicky Brennan, cabinet member for housing, has assured the public that “residents would be provided for.” The decision was approved by a single vote cast by councillor Lee Marsham, after which loud arguments broke out as protestors tried to enter the council chamber.
🖼️ Birmingham’s Pre-Raphaelite collection has finally reopened. The permanent collection emerged from the vaults, opening for the public on Saturday 25 October. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) closed for renovation in 2022, starting a phased reopening in 2024. At the time, The Dispatch was fairly underwhelmed by the rejigged curation and gimmicky private exhibits. However, last Friday Samuel went out to get a preview of the world-class collection. Safe to say, we were impressed by BMAG’s return to form. Most of the vast mid-to-late 19th century collection has been returned to the walls of the museum. Additionally, old stalwarts like Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti are now complimented by overlooked female painters such as Emma Sandys and Kate Bunce — many of whom trained as artists and craftspeople in Birmingham.
Quick Hits
🛍️ The demolition of the indoor Bullring markets has been approved. (BBC).
🏙️ Mayor Richard Parker has called Birmingham ‘Zone 5’ of London in anticipation of HS2 rail link. (Financial Times).
📋 Unite the Union have demanded an independent investigation into claims of ‘blacklisting’ made against a refuse worker agency manager (Birmingham Mail).
🇬🇧 MP Al Cairns has condemned reports of ‘intimidation’ over ongoing flags row in Stirchley (Birmingham Mail).
🛫 The CEO of Birmingham Airport has announced £300 million worth of investment over the next four years for the air travel hub (Birmingham Airport).
💰 £800 million has been announced for the West Midlands at the Regional Investment Summit (Birmingham World).
🏛️ Stephen Hughes, the former chief executive of Birmingham City Council, has been appointed Birmingham Museums Trust chair. (Colmore BID).
🚆 HS2-West Coast Mainline link to be delayed by four years (BBC).
Media picks
📰 The Guardian’s sportswriter Jonathan Liew has taken to the paper’s op-ed page on the Tel Aviv Maccabi-Aston Villa furore. Liew makes the case that none of the political leaders who came out against the Maccabi ban could have properly consulted key stakeholders or information, pointing out that Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer and Ed Davey all put out their statements within five hours of Aston Villa announcing the news. Liew also argues that: “Choosing to stand with the far-right foreign football hooligan against the local police force” is what “British patriotism looks like in 2025.”
📰 “I’ve been told previously by people that the best thing about Birmingham was leaving it,” jeweller Laura Vann told the Financial Times in this feature about Birmingham’s jewellery making renaissance. But, she insists, the city’s new recognition as a ‘world craft city’ for jewellery-making by the Worlds Craft Council is an essential part of reframing how Brum is seen. According to Vann, people “very high up in the jewellery industry” have failed to recognise the importance of Birmingham: which produces 40% of items made in the UK.
Our to do list
🎸On Tuesday, catch the innovative art rocker Todd Rundgren at The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham. Tickets start at £43.77.
👻On Wednesday, get your spook on at the Midlands Art Centre (MAC), with ‘Even More Ghost Stories by Candlelight.’ You’ll be joined by award-winning writers for a night of horror. Tickets from £11.95.
🎭 Big fan of Mock the Week? On Thursday, the comedian Sara Pascoe is at the town hall with her live show ‘I am a Strange Gloop.’ Tickets from £30.
🪩 Legendary Brummie techno night House of God is back this Friday. Tickets start at £22.25.
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