Celebrities

Labour Minister Left Squirming in Tense GMB Grilling as She Begs ‘Forgive Me’

Published on June 17, 2025

Labour’s Emma Reynolds found herself in seriously uncomfortable territory during her appearance on Good Morning Britain, as Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley put her on the spot over the government’s handling of grooming gang investigations.

Joining via video link from Westminster, the economic secretary to the Treasury was supposed to discuss the new inquiry into grooming gangs, but things quickly got tense when she kept falling back on the same phrase — “I can’t comment.” Viewers watched as she struggled to give clear answers on a heartbreaking case involving a woman who was groomed as a child, but later ended up convicted for being part of a gang herself, while the men who abused her walked free, reported the Express.

Susanna and Richard wanted to know if this kind of case would be properly addressed in the upcoming investigation, and what Reynolds thought of the disturbing outcome. She began by offering sympathy, saying: “Yes we want to ensure that the individual you just mentioned, the man in the grooming gang in this instance, is brought to justice. We want to ensure that all of the perpetrators who have been responsible for grooming young girls in different parts of the country are brought to justice and that we get that justice for victims and I’m really sorry to hear about this horrific case, of which, as you said, there are many, many others.”

But when Richard pushed further, asking if she believed the woman’s conviction should be overturned, Reynolds wouldn’t commit. “I can’t comment on that specific case, you’ll forgive me. These are legal matters, I’m a Treasury minister, I can’t, I don’t have the full details of that case and investigation–” she replied, before being cut off.

Susanna then jumped in with a more specific question: would the new inquiry actually cover cases where victims were punished rather than protected? Her tone was sharp, clearly frustrated by the lack of clarity. “I’m sorry, my question was do you think that the inquiry will cover cases of that? Where the children have been reporting sexual abuse and exploitation but then have faced charges and convictions and indeed served time themselves. Do you think that the remit of the inquiry will cover that?”

Still, Reynolds dodged giving a straight answer. “Well the home secretary will set out full details of the inquiry and the government’s response to Baroness Casey’s review later this afternoon, so I can’t give you specific details around that,” she said.

“But what I do want to reassure you and your listeners of is that we can both take forward the recommendations on the table as we already are, as well as taking forward the inquiry that Louise Casey has recommended, which is different to the one that took place before because it is about coordinating those local inquiries that are getting started, and also gathering evidence.”

The exchange left a lot of viewers frustrated, with some questioning why such an important and sensitive issue was being met with vague responses. For many watching, it felt like a missed opportunity to get some real answers.

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