Shame those who failed to act on abuse

I WRITE as a former childcare social worker, tutor and whistleblower, with a radical proposal for minimising all forms of serious abuse and negligence.

Being able to check that a public servant is listed on an approved register is not a solution. All that does is create another layer of bureaucracy.

What is needed is the means to robustly enforce codes of practice. Anyone who steps out of line would be shown the door, never to return.

I have long called for any paid staff involved in any form of abuse, to have a lifetime ban on working with those who are vulnerable. Pension rights should be removed, over and above any punishments handed down by the courts. There is also a case for taking whatever they own and using the generated funds to expand services such as those provided by the NSPCC and Childline.

There have been cases in which politicians and other influential figures such as Jimmy Savile have been able to exploit and abuse those using our health and so-called “care” system.

The report commissioned by Rotherham Council into child sexual exploitation emphasises the responsibilities of top managers. Those in the police and social services knew of the outrage but failed take decisive legal action.

As always, there will be much wringing of hands by those keen to hold onto their jobs but they must be shown the door.

We must stop avoiding the lessons of history. To that end, when Parliament reconvenes next Monday, responsible MPs must demand an urgent change to the law.

Amongst other necessary changes, there must be clear penalties on any politicians and public servants, especially chief executives and all other heads of services, who know of and fail to stop any form of serious abuse or negligence. Those penalties must include immediate removal from office, a lifetime ban on further employment in any public service, loss of pension rights and their assets to be treated as though they are products of a crime, in addition to any penalties which a court might impose. Politicians with such information who fail to act decisively, would also be barred for life from any political office.

From: Michael Meadowcroft, Former Liberal MP, Leeds.

THE intransigence of Shaun Wright as elected police and crime commissioner highlights one of the serious defects in making these posts directly elected, to which those of us opposed to the reform drew attention at the time, (Where is the accountability? The Yorkshire Post, August 28).

Had the elected South Yorkshire Police Authority continued, its chair could have been removed by a vote of the members of the authority. Even better, if we still had the metropolitan county councils, abolished by the Thatcher government in 1986, the chair of the police committee would have been an appointment of the whole council. Such collective responsibility is paradoxically more democratic than the direct election of a single chief executive and certainly less dangerous, as the appalling Rotherham example demonstrates.

From: Don Buxton, Wickersley, Rotherham.

I HAVE come to the conclusion that the lure of £80K-plus salary as crime commissioner, and any possible perks, have proven to be a bigger lure for Shaun Wright than the issue of moral principles or scruples and that honour and virtue are valued significantly less than the external advantages of rank and fortune.

I take note of his statement that he took “full responsibility for my part in the collective failures which took place at Rotherham Council during the time I was in office and indeed to that end I resigned in 2010”.

Is it not the case that he resigned his Cabinet post to concentrate solely on seeking the Labour Party’s nomination as South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner?

From: Jack Kinsman, Grimsby.

NOW that this evil sexual grooming of British white children by Asian Muslims has come to light in Rotherham and other places, may I respectfully suggest that there be no special bi-lingual schools in the future?

From: Alex Wilkinson, Avondale Crescent, Shipley.

IT should not be forgotten that amongst all the evidence of incompetence, all these people are very well paid by their council tax payers, and they constantly justify these super salaries by saying you have to pay the best rates to get the best people.

The complete lack of responsibility, lack of leadership qualities and lack of personal integrity clearly show this justification to be utterly false and typical of the self-serving attitude now on show. What hope is offered to ordinary taxpayers when one can only speculate on this situation being repeated throughout the various cities throughout the UK? Is it any wonder the apathy at election time is at the level it is?

From: Stewart Knowles, Wrose Road, Bradford.

HOW Shaun Wright has the gall to hold onto his job as South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, something he was only elected into by 14 per cent of the people in South Yorkshire, beggars belief.

I do not know how Mr Wright can sleep easy in his bed. He should do the right thing and resign not just from the Labour Party but from all public positions that he holds.

From: SR Hill, Todwick, Rotherham.

I, AND I am sure many others, are sick and tired of hearing “that lessons have been learnt “ or “need to be learnt” from those responsible and in public office who allowed crimes to take place on their watch. They should be dismissed immediately and prosecuted for abuse of public office. They should not even have been in the job, they should have already learnt their lesson. That is why they were given the job in the first place. It is a serious dereliction of duty in public office by all those involved.

If they knew what was happening, having had it brought to their attention and with the power to stop it, then they were aiding and abetting a serious crime and should be treated accordingly.

From: Phil Hanson, Baildon.

I FIND the behaviour of those charged with protecting the young and innocent an absolute disgrace. From council services to the police, there has been a code of silence and denial all supposedly in the interests of social cohesion. Britain is run, it seems, for political correctness rather than the welfare of our children and society as a whole.

From: Patrick Hilley, Keighley.

WHY are all the condemnations and requests for Rotherham councillors, senior police officers and senior social workers only asking for resignations?

We should be demanding that all the people who played a part in this ongoing and disgraceful crime be given the long prison sentences they have earned.

From: Rob Elliott, Greasbro, Rotherham.

I REFER to JG Riseley’s letter (The Yorkshire Post, August 28). Rotherham people are not out on the streets protesting because it is a waste of time.

We well know from trying this technique on other occasions such as protesting about open door immigration and building on greenbelt to name two policy examples.

From: Andrew Acton, Rossett Way, Harrogate.

WE would shout “shame” but no one would hear because those responsible are too busy covering their backsides. They will procrastinate, lie, dissemble and impede in the hope we will forget, but enough is enough.