Whitehall officials tried to convince Lord Michael Gove to go to court to cover up details of a report into the grooming scandal in 2011, he has said, confirming Sky News reporting earlier this week.

Speaking to Sky’s Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge, the former senior cabinet minister said it is “undoubtedly the case that more should have been done” to prevent the abuse of young girls in Britain, admitting that it weighs on him.

The allegations of an attempted cover-up were first made to Sky News by former Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings in an interview with Sky News, and the claims were substantiated by other sources as well. Mr Cummings was working for Lord Gove, who was then education secretary.

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Lord Gove explained that in 2011, he learned that the late Times journalist Andrew Norfolk, who he described as “a heroic reporter who did more than anyone to initially uncover this scandal”, was seeking to publish details of a report from Rotherham Council about the abuse and grooming of young girls.

He said: “Rotherham Council wanted to stop that happening. They wanted to go to court to prevent him publishing some details, and we in the Department for Education were asked by the council, ‘would we join in, would we be a party to that court action to stop it?’

“And I had to look at the case, advised by Dominic [Cummings] and by others, and there were some within the department, some officials who said, ‘be cautious, don’t allow this to be published, there may be risks for relatives of the victims concerned.”

Rotherham Council also argued that publication may pose “risks” to the process of “improving in the way in which it handles” grooming cases, he continued.

The judicial review wanted by officials would have asked a judge to decide about the lawfulness of The Times’ publication plans and the consequences that would flow from this information entering the public domain.

But Lord Gove said: “My view at the time, advised by Dominic and by others within the department, was that it was definitely better for it to be published.”

“So we said to Rotherham, we will join the case, but we’re joining it on the side of the Times and Andrew Norfolk because we believe in transparency.”

‘Tough questions’ for Whitehall

Lord Gove went on to say that a national inquiry could see some “tough questions” asked of the Home Office about its culture and its interactions with the police.

But those questions will also be posed to two departments he led – the Department for Local Government and the Department of Education, and he said: “I think it’s right that there should be, because the nature and scale of what the victims have endured means that there’s an obligation on all of us who’ve been in any form of elected office to be honest and unsparing in looking at what went on.”

He said he “certainly didn’t have the knowledge at my command that we now do about the widespread nature of this activity”.

‘Not nearly enough’ progress made

Sophy Ridge put to Lord Gove that despite commissioning a report on what was happening to girls in care, and not seeking to block the publication of Andrew Norfolk’s reporting, he still failed to make change.

He replied: “Yes, so it is undoubtedly the case that more should have been done.”

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He admitted that it “absolutely” weighs on him, and that “not nearly enough” progress was made on the protection of vulnerable girls.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I do wish that I had been more vehement in trying to persuade people to take appropriate action,” he said.

Local government ‘sought to deny scale’ of scandal

The now Spectator editor went on to say that there was “pushback, particularly but not exclusively, from those in local government” to subsequent questions about cultural background, and he said “local councillors and others sought to deny the scale of what was happening and particularly, sought to deny questioning about the identity and the background of the perpetrators”.

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He continued: “I think the right thing to do is for everyone to acknowledge that sometimes there were people who were acting from noble motives, who did not want to increase ethnic and racial anxieties, who did not to fan far-right flames, and thought that it was better to step away from the really grim reality of what was going on.

“I can understand that. But ultimately, that didn’t serve anyone. It did not serve the victims.”

The Department for Education and Rotherham Council did not respond when approached for comment earlier this week on the claims first made by Dominic Cummings, revealed by Sky News.

Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft has quit her job as a government whip in opposition to the government’s plans to cut disability benefits.

She wrote in a letter to the prime minister that she could not vote “for reforms which include cuts to disabled people’s finances”.

The former shadow minister for disabled people becomes the first MP to quit a government job over the controversial welfare reform plans that have seen over 100 Labour MPs publicly express concern over the proposals.

A government spokesperson defended the reforms as “principled” and insisted they will protect the vulnerable.

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The MP for Lewisham North wrote that the benefits system is in “desperate need of reform”, but argued this is not the way to do it.

She said: “I absolutely understand the need to address the ever-increasing welfare bill in these difficult economic times, but I have always believed this could and should be done by supporting more disabled people into work.

“I do not believe that cuts to personal independence payment (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit should be part of the solution.”

Ms Foxcroft said she has “wrestled” with the decision over whether to resign, but said: “Sadly it now seems that we are not going to get the changes I desperately wanted to see.

“I therefore tender my resignation as I know I will not be able to do the job that is required of me and whip – or indeed vote – for reforms which include cuts to disabled people’s finances.”

She has received public support from a number of fellow Labour MPs, who praised her “principled” stand on this issue.

‘Moral case for change’

The government published its bill earlier this week to tighten the eligibility for PIP benefits, and also cuts to the sickness-related portion of Universal Credit.

Ministers say these plans will cut £5bn from the welfare budget that is ballooning.

The cost of long-term sickness and disability benefits for working-age people has risen by £20bn since the pandemic and is forecast to hit £70bn over the next five years.

Ministers have said there is also a moral case for change, with one in eight young people not in education, training, or employment – prompting fears of a “wasted generation”.

But disability groups say they fear an increase in suicides and mental health conditions.

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The government’s own assessment forecast an extra 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty – including 50,000 children. It did not include the impact of people moving into work.

A government spokesperson said: “This Labour government was elected to deliver change. The broken welfare system we inherited is failing the sick and most vulnerable and holding too many young people back. It is fair and responsible to fix it.

“Our principled reforms will ensure those who can work should, that those who want to work are properly supported, and that those with most severe disabilities and health conditions are protected.”