Dozens of child abuse survivors have urged the government to scrap an inquiry into historical abuse and replace it with a more powerful body.
In a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May, they called for a new inquiry with the power to "compel witnesses to give evidence under oath".
This followed a leaked letter from Mrs May in which she told current inquiry members their panel might be disbanded.
Labour MP Simon Danczuk said the home secretary was in "complete disarray".
Mr Danczuk, who exposed child sex abuse allegations against former Liberal MP Cyril Smith, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that survivors would be "dismayed" by the progress of the inquiry - which was set up in July and has started work, but has no chairman.
He said the lack of progress would encourage people to "take more direct action" and "campaign more effectively" for justice for survivors of historical abuse.
Mrs May's first two choices to be the inquiry's chairperson both stood down amid claims they had close links with establishment figures.
'Dedicated police team'The letter to Mrs May from survivors, survivors' groups and associated professionals says they would welcome the inquiry being given "statutory powers", as well as the "replacement of the current panel".
They say this would "increase confidence", adding: "It is essential that those conducting the inquiry have appropriate experience, are free from strong links to prominent establishment figures or any other potential conflict of interest and have a proven track record of promoting survivors' rights."
It is "essential" that the inquiry has legal powers to call witnesses under oath and to "prevent evidence being withheld or tampered with", they say.
The letter also calls for a "dedicated police team to take evidence alongside the inquiry and investigate and prosecute offenders".
The inquiry, sparked by claims of paedophiles operating in Westminster in the 1980s, will investigate whether "public bodies and other non-state institutions have taken seriously their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse in England and Wales".
In her letter to current panel members, seen by the BBC, Mrs May said she was considering three options to give the inquiry more powers - and only one did not require the panel to be disbanded.
She acknowledged the situation had "not been easy" for panel members but said the "confidence of survivors is paramount". An inquiry source told the BBC panel members had been told they could apply for positions on the new panel.
A leaked reply to Mrs May from panel member Sharon Evans, who runs a children's charity and suffered abuse herself, says halting the inquiry now "would send a very negative message to so many people we have already met and who we have promised they can have confidence in us to do the right thing".
Labour has criticised Mrs May for her "utter failure" to get the inquiry "off the ground".
Its first chair, Baroness Butler-Sloss, resigned a week after the inquiry was set up. She faced calls to quit because her late brother, Sir Michael Havers, was attorney general in the 1980s.
Her replacement, Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf, was appointed in September - but on 31 October she stood down amid questions over her links to former Home Secretary Lord Brittan.
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