Ex-Rotherham police chief forced to resign as children’s hospital director

Meredydd Hughes, who led the scandal-hit force from 2004 to 2011, was told last night by the hospital trust’s council of governors that it would be “inappropriate” for him to continue while investigations were going on into child sex abuse in Rotherham.

Mr Hughes told MPs on the Home Affairs Select committee in September that during his tenure he had “no understanding of the scale and scope of what was going on” in the town where 1,400 children were abused over 16 years.

A statement by Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust today said: “The Chairman of the Trust has today accepted the resignation of Non-Executive Director Meredydd Hughes.

“Yesterday the Trust’s Council of Governors considered the position of Mr Hughes in light of ongoing investigations into child sexual exploitation during the time Mr Hughes was Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police.

“The Council of Governors decided that it would be inappropriate for Mr Hughes to continue as a Non-Executive Director of the Trust.

“Following that meeting, Mr Hughes has resigned from the Board with immediate effect.”

It emerged yesterday that Mr Hughes had stepped down from his responsibilities as non-executive director of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where he was being paid between £10,000 to £15,000 a year.

According to the trust’s website, Mr Hughes was a member of the Clinical Governance Committee, Finance and Resources Committee and the Board Nominations and Remuneration Committee.

Mr Hughes has been accused of a dereliction of duty amid claims he focused his efforts during his time in charge, from 2004 to 2011, on speeding motorists rather than helping young girls subject to gang rape and violence.

The former chief, now working as a consultant in the Middle East, said the widespread abuse by mostly Asian men of white working class girls as revealed in the Jay Report had never been raised with him.

“I can say with honesty that at the time I was chief constable I never heard any of these claims, “ Mr Hughes told the Home Affairs Select Committee in September.

Chairman Keith Vaz said the claim that the then officer knew nothing was astonishing. “We find it impossible to believe that the first time you heard of this was when you read these reports, “ Mr Vaz said.

Mr Hughes said: “I thought I had a picture of all the force areas - not just Rotherham but all the boroughs under my responsibility.

“I thought I had good relationships with local authorities and others who were bringing data to me in different ways other than reported crime figures.

“I thought I had the relationships that would alert me to issues that needed attention. I was wrong. I reiterate my apology and I am devastated that I am in this position.”

He added: “I take no pleasure in this, I have failed the victims, it hurts.”