Timing, as in good comedy, is vital in politics.

That’s why Lucy Powell’s comments on Friday night about the child grooming gangs scandal really matter.

The House of Commons leader lost her composure during an appearance on Radio Four’s political debate programme Any Questions.

It came after Reform UK campaigner Tim Montgomerie mentioned a Channel 4 documentary on the abduction and rape of vulnerable young girls by groups of men of mainly British-Pakistani backgrounds.

Powell interrupted to say: “Oh we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we? Let’s get that dog whistle out shall we, yeah?”

It didn’t take long for her comments to provoke a backlash on social media, with Reform and the Tories both piling in as well.

A spokesman for Nigel Farage’s party said: “Lucy Powell’s abhorrent comments truly demonstrate how out of touch the Labour Party is.”

Of course, Powell’s remarks – for which she later issued an apology of sorts – would have ignited a fierce political row regardless of when she said them.

Labour has been heavily criticised for rejecting calls for a national inquiry into the scandal, preferring instead to promote investigations at a local authority level.

But it was the fact that her outburst came just hours after Reform UK – which has campaigned heavily on the issue – had won the local elections in England that made them so politically toxic for Labour.

As well as taking hundreds of council seats off the Tories, the right-wing party also showed that they can pull off stunning victories in traditional Labour areas like Durham and Doncaster.

With Reform also breathing down Labour’s neck in many of the areas where the grooming scandal took place, Powell’s words could almost have been deliberately chosen to cause maximum reputational damage to her party.

No wonder one senior figure in No.10 called them “appalling”.

According to The Sunday Times, education secretary Bridget Phillipson will be sacked at the next cabinet reshuffle, with Lisa Nandy also facing the axe along with her Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Senior Labour figures are now openly speculating that Powell’s neck is also on the chopping block.

“She shouldn’t be allowed on broadcast,” one told HuffPost UK, while another said: “What a car crash.”

For now at least, Downing Street appears to be backing Powell to ride out the storm.

Health secretary Wes Streeting offered up a stout defence of her on the broadcast round this morning, saying: “We all make mistakes. I’ve made mistakes in the past, I’m sure I’ll make mistakes in the future.

“The important thing is when we make mistakes, we own it, we apologise. That’s exactly what Lucy has done.”

But it would not be a surprise if, come the reshuffle, Powell finds herself on the backbenches.