Oldham Council meeting halted over child abuse row

Proceedings had to be adjourned twice after protesters in the gallery shouted at councillors

A heated row broke out during a motion calling for mandatory reporting of concerns of child sexual exploitation at a council meeting.

Proceedings had to be adjourned twice after protesters in the gallery shouted at councillors in Oldham on Wednesday.

A report last year found local children were failed by the agencies meant to protect them from sexual abuse.

One woman was asked to leave the chamber after wishing ill on a councillor's children.

They were protesting the motion put forward by Labour to tackle the issue, and called for a public inquiry.

Council leader Arooj Shah said the authority wanted to adopt a victims and survivors charter with those groups.

She said the report was a "devastating read" and it "lays bare the experiences of those vulnerable girls and boys at the hands of evil men".

"Nobody who reads it fail to be horrified of what they want through, nor can they fail to be ashamed at the missed opportunities that were there to help them," she said.

Following the publication of the report the council had made "significant progress", Ms Shah told the meeting.

Protesters held up signs at the council meeting

"But it is clear there is much more to be done. Children in this borough, unfortunately just like all boroughs, cities and towns across the country, continue to be at risk of exploitation," she added.

"This motion reflects the voices of those brave women and girls, and boys who wanted their experiences to help shape current practice, who wanted to protect children and young people at risk now."

An independent inquiry was set up after allegations circulated on social media that Oldham Council was covering up what it knew about grooming gangs in the town.

It found there were structural flaws in Greater Manchester Police and the council's safeguarding systems, but discovered no evidence of a cover-up.

Numerous calls for a further widespread inquiry into abuse in Oldham over a longer time period and with a wider remit have been voted down at previous council meetings, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Conservative councillor Lewis Quigg called again for a public inquiry and for professionals who failed young people subject to abuse to be held accountable.

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