Rochdale Council’s child abuse failings ‘unforgiveable’

Children in local authority care in Rochdale who reported sexual and physical abuse were failed by the council, its chief executive has said.

Steve Rumbelow said events at Knowl View School and Cambridge House Hostel had “cast a long shadow over the town”.

He apologised, saying the council’s response to reports of abuse dating back to the 1960s was “unforgiveable”.

He added it was working to safeguard young people and assisting the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The independent inquiry which opens on 9 October will examine recent allegations into sexual abuse and exploitation of children residing at or attending Cambridge House and Knowl View.

It will also investigate if there were any “institutional failings”.

Read on… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-41308602

Cyril Smith abuse probe: Council boss apologises for ‘unforgivable’ failings

Rochdale Council’s chief executive has apologised for the authority’s “unforgivable” response to concerns about sexual abuse at a residential school for boys linked to the late politician Cyril Smith.

Smith was the subject of sex abuse allegations and investigations over decades during his career, first as a prominent local councillor in Rochdale and later as the town’s Liberal MP.

He was never prosecuted and went on to be knighted before he died at 82 in 2010.

Two years after his death, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) stated the 29-stone politician abused young boys in the 1960s in his role as secretary of the Rochdale Hostel for Boys Association.

Read more at: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/news-wire/cyril-smith-abuse-probe-council-boss-apologises-for-unforgivable-failings-1-8760460