Rotherham & other City/Town child abuse scandals

[johnny the fox]

The reason the police didn't do anything in Rotherham is because they were involved as well...allegedly..

[David Hankey]

Castrate the bastards!!

[Guest MattP]

Cheeky ****ers in parliament today asking for more money to protect victims.

Do they not remember the amount of cash they spent making sure they removed those children from the foster care of UKIP a couple of years back?

That's the legacy of this Rotherham council, remove children in need from the arms of god fearing experienced foster parents as they vote UKIP whilst turning a blind eye to the same needy children being beaten, drugged tortured and raped by gangs purely on the basr of not upsetting people.

They genuinely should be hanging. They are as responsible as the rapists.

[Steve_Guppy_Left_Foot]

Frankie Boyles tweet today sums up my feelings about the processes and the reporting of it.

[davieG]

West Yorkshire Police charge 25 men with child sex offences

West Yorkshire Police have charged 25 men with child sex offences including rape, grooming and trafficking.

The offences are alleged to have been committed between 2006 and 2011 and largely relate to one girl who was under 16 at the time.

The men are mainly from Halifax or Bradford, but also Huddersfield, Derby, Shipley, Nantwich and Newport in Wales.

All 25 have been released on bail and are due to appear before Calderdale Magistrates' Court on 12 February.

The full list of charges are rape, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, sexual activity with a child under 16, sexual assault, voyeurism, sexual grooming, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child under 16, causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity without consent and supply of a controlled drug of class B.

One of the allegations also relates to a second victim, during the same time period.

[Buce]

And Northumbria:

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-31151445

[Guest MattP]

Interesting interview with Andrew Neil to the local Labour MP.

 

Some incredible stuff regarding the people who were in charge of child services on this council.

 

John Fitzgerald - was Chief Executive of Rotherham council, appointed by Labour and found to have ignored reports on this - Now head of Childrens services on Liverpool council on 190k a year

 

Jackie Wilson - in charge of safeguarding children on Rotherham council, now earns 90k as an assistant director of Child Services on Doncaster Council.

 

Matt Elsdahl - was council leader in Rotherham - now the principal advisor to childrens services in Doncaster Council.

 

 

 

You could be forgiven for thinking some people aren't quite taking this too seriously, ironically it looks like the BNP taking votes off UKIP might just keep Labour in this seat come May by the skin of it's teeth.

Edited 6 February 2015 by MattP

[Guest MattP]

A police officer believed to be under investigation as part of the Rotherham abuse scandal has died after being hit by a car.

PC Hassan Ali died in the early hours of Friday morning after being struck while on foot and off duty in Sheffield on 28 January.

Sky News understands the death is not being treated as suspicious.

It is thought the 44-year-old was being probed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after complaints against him.

Sky News' Mike McCarthy said: "He was under some kind of surveillance, we understand, by his own force in South Yorkshire."

The force would not confirm PC Ali's involvement in the IPCC investigation.

But it said in statement: "South Yorkshire Police received four public complaints relating to alleged misconduct of an officer. The force referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission."

Responding to the death, Chief Constable David Crompton said: "All of our thoughts are with Hassan's family and on behalf of the force I would like to offer my sincere condolences at this incredibly difficult time.

"PC Ali was a well-liked officer whose colleagues are devastated by what has happened."

The officer's family were by his side when he died.

[Rincewind]

Just got in and put channel four news on. There was a muslim woman  being interviewed and a former Labour MP for Keitghly. I have seen the muslim woman before and she speaks a lot of sense. The ex-Labour MP was one who brought the abuses to light and she said when she tried to highlight what was going on she was shouted down as a racist. She said she has relatives that are Indian and it was very hard to be heard.

Edited 7 February 2015 by Rincewind

[Guest MattP]

What have the Tories got to with this or Rotherham council Ken?

[Webbo]

What have the Tories got to with this or Rotherham council Ken?

Something bad's happened, it must be their fault.

[Mike Oxlong]

What have the Tories got to with this or Rotherham council Ken?

I think his point is about the potential for political gain to be made out of the failings of the labour council.

[Guest MattP]

I think his point is about the potential for political gain to be made out of the failings of the labour council.

If this isn't political what is?

I'm getting sick of political parties from all sides talking about point scoring and political footballs just to try and stop people talking about their errors.

Don't forget Rotherham council took children off of a couple because they were UKIP members, at the same time they turned a blind eye to gang rape of children because the perpetrators were Muslim.

If that's not political I don't know what is.

Something bad's happened, it must be their fault.

Yep. Even when it's an all Labour council.

[Webbo]

I think his point is about the potential for political gain to be made out of the failings of the labour council.

Ken once started a thread about some cock ups by the inland revenue on some peoples tax returns and stated it was a tory plot to spite people on benefits. He can't really take the high ground when it comes to things like this.

[Mike Oxlong]

If this isn't political what is?

I'm getting sick of political parties from all sides talking about point scoring and political footballs just to try and stop people talking about their errors.

Don't forget Rotherham council took children off of a couple because they were UKIP members, at the same time they turned a blind eye to gang rape of children because the perpetrators were Muslim.

If that's not political I don't know what is.

Yep. Even when it's an all Labour council.

I didn't say it isn't political - I gave my perception of what I thought Ken was trying to say. Of course there should be accountability for failings by those who are charged with protecting, investigating and acting upon this sort of thing. That is why I have posted that May must resign. There does seem to be a double standard when she remains in post. Mind you, many of those in higher posts have the hide of a rhino.

[Guest MattP]

May is overseeing the historic child abuse inquiry which she has just appointed that girl from New Zealand to lead, she is nothing to do with this. You don't really think she should resign pre-inquiry surely? It's bad to pick two connected people but bad enough to step down?

Eric Pickles was communities secretary who has had to organise the investigation into Rotherham.

The most shocking thing about this is the people sacked from Rotherham councils who were in charge of this have just been shifted to other Labour councils like Doncaster and Liverpool. People should be asking serious questions about that?

[Mike Oxlong]

Ken once started a thread about some cock ups by the inland revenue on some peoples tax returns and stated it was a tory plot to spite people on benefits. He can't really take the high ground when it comes to things like this.

Trust me, should I ever go on Mastermind Ken Duddle's General Chat Postings won't be my specialist subject. From my perspective Rotherham council should and have resigned. Theresa May should and hasn't resigned.

[Webbo]

As for Theresa May, To appoint someone with the gravitas and legal know how to conduct the enquiry it's impossible to find someone from outside the establishment. The victims want to pick the judge which would be out of the question in any other legal proceedings. They'll find something to complain about in the new judge and whatever the verdict they'll be unhappy about it.

[Guest MattP]

Comparing someone who picked two wrong judges to councillors who openly turned a blind eye to 1,400 children being beaten, trafficked, drugged and gang raped is beyond belief tbh.

[Jon the Hat]

Trust me, should I ever go on Mastermind Ken Duddle's General Chat Postings won't be my specialist subject. From my perspective Rotherham council should and have resigned. Theresa May should and hasn't resigned.

They are all still councillors.

[Mike Oxlong]

"Someone who picked two wrong judges". C'mon Matt, if this had been a labour minister you'd have put a different spin on it.

May's incompetence is staggering.

The first judge (Butler Sloss) would have had to investigate whether her brother (the then Attorney General) failed to properly investigate allegations of child abuse. Seems like a pretty obvious conflict of interest to me! If that charge is established the political ramifications are massive. Not the sort of thing one would want in the public domain just before an election.

So who is then appointed? Fiona Woolf. A commercial solicitor who would not be an obvious candidate to chair such an inquiry. Even less so when one learns that she invited Mr and Mrs Brittain round to dinner on several occasions and has dined with them on five occasions since 2008. Mr Brittain being of course Leon Brittain, the Home Secretary in post at the time when ministers were handed a dossier on alleged high profile paedophiles. A dossier which was suppressed and parts of which have somehow gone missing.

So another obviously unsuitable appointment by which the chair would have been conflicted.

So who gains from the delay? Butler Sloss was appointed in the summer of last year. Had the inquiry got under way the press would have been all over it at the moment, just before the election. I think there is a case that the appointments were purposefully unsuitable so that all this stuff doesn't come out till after polling day. If I am wrong on that it is just staggering incompetence and poor judgement.

The present government are not responsible for the sexual perversions of their predecessors. They are responsible for the failure to promptly and effectively investigate so that those responsible might be held to account, those who are victims can be heard and receive a measure of justice and that system failures can be rectified.

As for it not being possible to find someone to chair the inquiry without connections to the establishment this is frankly bull. It was somehow possible to do so in respect of other inquiries investigating government conduct and I can think of a number of suitable candidates from this generation of High Court judiciary.

By all means hammer the council in Rotherham. But I would have more respect for the Tory boys if they accepted the gravity of the failure by May. It is certainly a lot more than just picking the wrong two candidates.

[Alf Bentley]

Comparing someone who picked two wrong judges to councillors who openly turned a blind eye to 1,400 children being beaten, trafficked, drugged and gang raped is beyond belief tbh.

 

"picked two wrong judges" downplays it a little, don't you think? 

 

The judges were to oversee an enquiry into decades of child sex abuse. It is reasonable to assume that this encompassed thousands of children being beaten, trafficked, drugged and gang-raped (even murdered, according to some rumours). The enquiry is also supposed to look into who was involved in covering up all that child sex abuse.

 

So, who did the Tory Home Secretary, Theresa May, appoint?

- 1st choice: The sister of the Tory Attorney-General (Sir Michael Havers) widely accused of covering up child sex abuse in the early 80s

- 2nd choice: The friend and neighbour of the Tory Home Secretary (Leon Brittan) widely accused of covering up child sex abuse in the mid-80s

"picked two wrong judges" doesn't really cover it adequately, Matt!

 

What happened in Rotherham is an outrage. All Labour councillors or officials who let it happen, through their actions or through their inaction in positions of responsibility, should lose their positions - and should go to prison if their offences justify it. The same applies to anyone else who participated or allowed it to happen - notably unaligned council employees and police officers, not to mention the actual perpetrators (Pakistani taxi drivers and anyone else implicated). If people with any degree of responsibility have been employed elsewhere, that it an outrage, too, I agree (I've seen no info about this).

 

It is cynical beyond belief, though, for you to make hundreds of posts expressing (justified) outrage at Labour councillors turning a blind eye, but to downplay it when a Tory Home Secretary effectively does the same thing.

 

You also slated Harriet Harman repeatedly some months back over her employer's links to the Paedophile Information Exchange, yet seem to have been silent (unless I've missed it) when prominent Tories are shown to have hushed up the activities of that organisation:

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/thatcher-stopped-officials-publicly-naming-sir-peter-hayman-as-suspected-paedophile-10020852.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/leon-brittan-dead-thatcher-minister-accused-of-failure-to-act-on-child-sex-abuse-dossier-dies-9995572.html

 

Personally, I think it would be healthier for these issues to be addressed on their merits.....but you seem to prefer to use them for biased right-wing propaganda or to sling mud at the left......

[Mike Oxlong]

They are all still councillors.

The cabinet has resigned and the government has appointed commissioners to take over running the authority. I imagine not every single councillor is culpable, in the same way that not every single Tory MP is responsible for May's fvck ups.

[Rincewind]

The cabinet has resigned and the government has appointed commissioners to take over running the authority. I imagine not every single councillor is culpable, in the same way that not every single Tory MP is responsible for May's fvck ups.

My point exactly.And what Alf said.

Edited 7 February 2015 by Rincewind

[Guest MattP]

"picked two wrong judges" downplays it a little, don't you think? 

 

The judges were to oversee an enquiry into decades of child sex abuse. It is reasonable to assume that this encompassed thousands of children being beaten, trafficked, drugged and gang-raped (even murdered, according to some rumours). The enquiry is also supposed to look into who was involved in covering up all that child sex abuse.

 

So, who did the Tory Home Secretary, Theresa May, appoint?

- 1st choice: The sister of the Tory Attorney-General (Sir Michael Havers) widely accused of covering up child sex abuse in the early 80s

- 2nd choice: The friend and neighbour of the Tory Home Secretary (Leon Brittan) widely accused of covering up child sex abuse in the mid-80s

"picked two wrong judges" doesn't really cover it adequately, Matt!

 

What happened in Rotherham is an outrage. All Labour councillors or officials who let it happen, through their actions or through their inaction in positions of responsibility, should lose their positions - and should go to prison if their offences justify it. The same applies to anyone else who participated or allowed it to happen - notably unaligned council employees and police officers, not to mention the actual perpetrators (Pakistani taxi drivers and anyone else implicated). If people with any degree of responsibility have been employed elsewhere, that it an outrage, too, I agree (I've seen no info about this).

 

It is cynical beyond belief, though, for you to make hundreds of posts expressing (justified) outrage at Labour councillors turning a blind eye, but to downplay it when a Tory Home Secretary effectively does the same thing.

 

You also slated Harriet Harman repeatedly some months back over her employer's links to the Paedophile Information Exchange, yet seem to have been silent (unless I've missed it) when prominent Tories are shown to have hushed up the activities of that organisation:

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/thatcher-stopped-officials-publicly-naming-sir-peter-hayman-as-suspected-paedophile-10020852.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/leon-brittan-dead-thatcher-minister-accused-of-failure-to-act-on-child-sex-abuse-dossier-dies-9995572.html

 

Personally, I think it would be healthier for these issues to be addressed on their merits.....but you seem to prefer to use them for biased right-wing propaganda or to sling mud at the left......

 

First of all delighted to see you back, the place is worse without you, second of all sorry for the late response.

 

Only May herself would know if she was being intentional but it might just be possible she didn't know? I just find it hard to believe she would have been deliberate in this, I mean it wasn;t like the media would let her get away with it? It's not unreasonable to suggest people in the house don't know who knows who, does it make her incompetent if she didn't know? I'd say more badly advised.

 

I still don't think it falls into any sort of comparison with Rotherham council who have pretty much been proven to have turned a blind eye to organised child abuse over a number of years.

 

If the Tories have done that it's wrong of course and they need to be punished (even if that means Thatcher as well!), bit again I think it's incomparable to what Harman and Hewitt did with PIE.