The UK’s long-awaited national inquiry into grooming gangs has been plunged into crisis following a wave of resignations from its survivor liaison panel, prompting Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to issue a firm assurance that the probe will remain “robust and rigorous.”

Mahmood’s comments, published Tuesday in The Times, came amid growing backlash from survivors who accuse the inquiry of straying from its original mandate. “It will never be watered down on my watch,” she wrote, pledging that the investigation will scrutinize offenders’ ethnicity and religion and compel testimony to expose systemic failures.

The resignations of Fiona Goddard and Ellie Reynolds over the weekend—followed by a third survivor, Elizabeth, on Monday—have spotlighted internal tensions. Goddard cited efforts to broaden the inquiry’s scope beyond group-based abuse, warning it could dilute focus on racial and religious motivations. Reynolds described a “final turning point” in the inquiry’s direction, while both criticized what they called a “toxic, fearful environment” and “condescending” treatment of victims.

Minister overseeing the inquiry, Jess Phillips, dismissed the allegations as “untrue,” prompting a sharp rebuttal from Goddard, who labeled the denial a “lie.”

The statutory inquiry, launched in June, holds powers to demand documents and compel witness testimony. It aims to investigate institutional failures in towns like Rotherham and Rochdale, where thousands of children were abused by predominantly Pakistani-heritage gangs over decades.

The turmoil has also cast uncertainty over leadership, with frontrunners Jim Gamble, a former police chief, and social worker Annie Hudson withdrawing from consideration Tuesday amid survivor concerns over potential conflicts of interest tied to their professional backgrounds.

Mahmood said the “door remains open” for panel members who resigned to return, but reiterated that the inquiry’s scope would not be compromised.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and other advocacy groups have called for survivor voices to remain central to the process. As the inquiry prepares to move forward, its credibility and direction hang in the balance—testing the UK’s resolve to confront a scandal that left deep scars across generations.