A survivor of child abuse in Rotherham claimed victims were ignored to ensure Labour did not lose votes in the town. The young girls were abused by Muslim men for years on end, but council did nothing to stop the crime.

The woman, known as ‘Jessica’, told the Daily Star that Labour politicians had “buried the truth to suit their own ends”. She said: “I’ve said all along that this has been about two things – money and power.

“Girls like me were sacrificed because no-one wanted the boat rocked because they knew it’d cost them votes if the finger of blame was pointed and because they thought we were worthless.”

Solicitor Dave Greenwood, who represents 38 victims, added: “There was an echelon of people who scratched each other’s backs. But I think there’s an ‘X Factor’ at play here. It’s quite apparent there was a feeling of the need to maintain the Asian vote to preserve Labour’s majority in the town.”

Jessica’s claims come after it was exposed that both the Police and Rotherham’s local MP failed to act when allegations of abuse were brought to their attention. Things got so serious that in 2003 the Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation (PACE) group warned the Home Office that South Yorkshire Police were leaking to the perpetrators.

Officials claimed they would take the matter to the Labour Home Secretary, David Blunket, but no action appears to have been taken. Later they warned Labour MP Denis MacShane about the abuse in a five page letter but he also took no action.

There have been suggestions for some time that victims were sacrificed to ensure Muslims kept voting Labour. But this is the first time a victim had made the claim themselves. Many of them spent years being ignored and in some cases were even harassed by the Police when their parents complained.