First look at the Times story that brings sharp focus to the issues Rotherham MBC has been trying to sweep under the carpet for so long:
Exclusive: Files expose hidden child sex scandal
Andrew Norfolk Chief Investigative Reporter
Confidential police reports and intelligence files that reveal a hidden truth about the sale and extensive use of English children for sex are exposed today. They show that for more than a decade organised groups of men were able to groom, pimp and traffic girls across the country with virtual impunity. Offenders were identified to police but not prosecuted. A child welfare expert, speaking under condition of anonymity, said that agencies’ reluctance to tackle such street-grooming networks was “the biggest child protection scandal of our time”. The Times has published several articles about a pattern of crimes across northern England and the Midlands involving groups of men, largely of Pakistani…
- Point by point: the failings
- The girls betrayed by police
- The Times Leading Article
- Known cases ‘tip of the iceberg’
- In full: The Times investigation
Click on images to enlarge, use your browsers back button to return.
Update! From the Star: Council chiefs vow to bring child grooming offenders to ‘justice’
From the Daily Mail: Asian sex gangs operated for a decade in Rotherham as authorities refused to acknowledge the problem, chilling police files reveal
Rotherham Politics 
The Crime of Silence.
If you only do one thing today, read the Times newspaper Monday 24 September 2012.
It sets out the scale and criminality of child exploitation here in Rotherham; there has been an institutional cover up and lack of robust action involving a wide range of agencies, RMBC, faith based community leaders etc.
The reason for not taking action, to maintain community cohesion.
Cllr Shaun Wright was the lead for children services and today remains silent on the crimes, Cllr Paul Lakin is also silent, the most damaging aspect of the collusion at RMBC is the role now played by Cllr Emma Hoddinott who has stopped anyone speaking out on the matter.
At the time of submitting this comment no one from RMBC was available to go live on the BBC news!
The Star is covering the story, no doubt the Advertiser will be covering the local dog show.
(I have tried to contact Cllr Lakin on three separate occasions)
Cerberus
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Our local politicians have much to answer for. Should there be a reader out there that can send us scans of these stories Rothpol would be delighted to receive them.
Apologies for links behind Rupert Murdock’s paywall.
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http://t.co/h1jMgKhz
This could be the catalyst for a good clear out in Rotherham. There is no way Shaun Wright can possibly stand for PCC now surely, not even he would have the gall. AS far as I am concerned the whole lot of them need to get out and fast – lets have criminal prosecutions here. And as for McShame, what can I say? Police – what were they doing? I am so disgusted with this that I cannot find words to describe how I feel.
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Firstly “The Times” are to be congratulated on being brave enough to state openly and honestly exactly who are the perpetrators of these crimes. They are predominantly men of Pakistani origin who will continue to deny that these crimes are anything to do with their culture. I do not believe this, I believe it is part of their culture to abuse anyone who is a non-believer in Islam. Why have the Council members covered this up for so long? Why have the police not taken action when these crimes came to light? Because the offenders were men of an ethnic minority culture and we all know we must not upset anyone belonging to that culture. Now is the time to act. These people must be persued with complete disregard to their culture and ethnicity and prosecuted to the Nth degree to stamp out this evil trade and abuse of our children and young opersons.
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http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/council-chiefs-vow-to-bring-child-grooming-offenders-to-justice-1-4956763
And this is enough to make you throw up. Lakin Thacker and McShame usual crap going to bring the perpetrators to justice? Handing themselves in are they? Meanwhile where are they all – Well Jangangir Akhtar is chairing the launch of the Roma Forum. You really couldn’t make it up.
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The Roma Forum indeed 😦
Typical Rovrum Laybah trick to try and appease communities of convenience who make Rovrum a temporary haven until conditions are better somewhere else, and then off they’ll flood to create a temporary haven elsewhere.
No doubt there’ll be RMBC provision for statutory service interpretation, creches, classes to assist integration (that means locals having to assimilate with visitors, not t’other way around), the integration roundabout will kick into full swing – paid for by us of course 😦
Who’s representing me and cosying up to me and my brood to ensure that my voice is heard? Each time I interact with RMBC Corn Fed Grunters, Muppets and Clowns me and my community are overruled and ignored, mostly by the numpty Caution Cabinet Clown of Whiston musketry fame!!
I would love to go and live in many other countries, but when I research the feasibility of that I find that if I want to live there beyond “visitor” status I have to be financially stable enough to support me and da brood without recourse to the new country’s social security system … no such provision applies here … we’ll take any amount of outsiders from anywhere who come with nothing, who don’t want to learn our languages, customs, religions, traditions, histories, and then expect us to adopt them without a hiccup.
I should cocoa!!!!!
New community arrivals should take a leaf out of the honourable and hardworking Pakistani Muslim and Indian Sikh and Hindu communities who came here many generations ago, but have diligently laboured and built businesses and contributed to the British way-of-life, become in British politics, serve on city, town and parish councils, become MPs and magistrates, and have been accepted as great neighbours and friends.
One quite disgruntled Rovrum citizen, resident, community charge taxpayer and permanent contributor to National Insurance and HM Revenue and Customs 😦
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Cass
I am happy to provide details of my diary if you wish, I did indeed chair a new community group that has been set up by Roma Slovaks to help them better understand our of way life and as well as them expecting equal access to services but which also come with social responsibilities.
Then I Chaired The Keppel Community First meeting followed by the Rotherham West CF meeting.
Then I attended a seminar in Doncaster given by John Seddon.
Hope that is helpful.
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Jahangir
I don’t remember asking you anything, since it was obvious from your tweets what you were doing. I don’t know what you have been doing for the last 12 years in Rotherham regarding the Asian sex gangs business either. For God’s sake play the man here – don’t let the decent hardworking Pakistanis in Rotherham be be lumped in with the perpetrators of this awful catalogue of events.
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Like sacrificial lambs, sacrificed on the altar of ‘community cohesion’!
It makes me very annoyed indeed at the catalogue of failures that can be laid at the door of Labour’s candidate for PCC, Shaun Wright.
How can Shaun Wright remain candidate, after this outrage has been so publicly exposed?
Shaun Wright must do the decent thing and stand down. Otherwise this issue will corrode confidence in him, as if an Albatross, were hung around his neck!
Where is Mahroof Hussain, when you want him? Looked, ducked and vanished, as usual!
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Roger Stone should be toppled over this, Wright should stand down as PCC, Lakin should have children’s services taken off him, Kimber and Joyce Thacker should be sacked.
Hang your heads in shame!
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Absolutely disgusting and those responsible and that includes those in positions of authority whether councilors, social services, prosecution service etc should be made to stand and answer to their negligent and downright criminal actions!
And shame on the national TV and radio media that the number 1 story still seems to be about whether a MP used the word Pleb.
Well done the Times!!!!
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Thanks for your comment Sam and welcome to Rotherham Politics.
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Cass
Like you and all right minded people I am absolutely horrified at some of the things I have read in the article. Please be assured I will do everything in my power to get to the bottom of the allegations.
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Thankyyou Jahangir
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It’s a bit late for that Jahangir. I took you to task over this subject several months ago and you all but denied it took place. You’ve now been backed into a corner and doesn’t it make you squirm?
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Jahangir, you are deputy leader of RMBC and only now do you say you have learned of these allegations. I know you read Rotherham Politics website on a regular basis, Where have you been all these months when we were trying to bring these allegations into the open? I’m sorry but I think you are part of the problem in covering up the truth, in the Crime of Silence!
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‘Rotherham- Where Everyone Matters’ (website zipline). Everyone, that is, except 10-15 year-old, white, vulnerable children, it would appear. And why this silly charade in the press of calling the perpetrators ‘Asians’? They’re not Burmese, they’re not Thai, they’re not Chinese, Japanese or Mongolian, they’re not Vienamese or Indian, they are – all together now….’….!!!!’ I’m nothing to do with Rotherham, but i am the father of a young girl. And if lived in Rotherham, I’d be telling them to stick their next council tax demand, as should you people.
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How could anyone in the police, council or social services say they did not know. The Times quote horrific examples of child sexual exploitation in all of the following reports –
Home Office funded Rotherham research project dated 2002
Sexual Exploitation, Drug Use and Drug Dealing South Yorkshire Police 2003
Lessons Learned Review- Operation Central, Report to Rotherham Local Safeguarding Children Board 2010
South Yorkshire Police: Child Sexual Exploitation – A Strategic Problem Profile. Report by Force Intelligence Bureau 2010
Shaun Wright a member of the council and for several years its portfolio holder for children’s and young people’s services, criticised The Times for “picking on Rotherham”
I think the whole country should pick on Rotherham.
Dennis McShane said Asians and South Asians in his comments, he needs to call a spade a spade and say Pakistani and stop making excuses for these evil men. These men were nearly all Pakistani, their victims white girls, they even danced around this issue on Question Time last night.
Chiel Superintendent Jason Harwin, Rotherham’s police commander, said yesterday that the actual number of victims was in the low double figures. The figures quoted by The Times were from an internal report in 2010 by South Yorkshire Police which estimated that 250-300 children were involved. It stated that these children were the victims of multiple offences over long periods so the number of offences could actually reach thousands each year.
Today in The Times newspaper there is praise for Rochdale with their self-critical review and state “It is a lesson,from evidence revealed by The Times this week of a decade of similar failings in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, that some authorities in England have yet to learn”
All praise and well done to whoever gave The Times the 200 confidential documents.
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