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Rotherham officials face Home Affairs Select Committee Ex Rotherham police chief 'failed' abuse victims
(36 minutes later)
Senior figures at Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police are being questioned by MPs about how the authorities handled child abuse. The former chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has told MPs he "singularly failed" victims of child abuse in Rotherham.
It follows a report which found at least 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham from 1997-2013. Merredyd Hughes is being questioned by the Home Affairs Select Committee about how authorities dealt with child sexual exploitation in the town.
The Home Affairs Select Committee will ask Shaun Wright, the ex-councillor who headed children's services how the abuse went "unchallenged for so long". A report found at least 1,400 children were abused from 1997-2013.
Mr Wright has resisted calls to resign as police and crime commissioner. The committee will also question police and crime commissioner Shaun Wright, who has resisted calls to resign.
The committee will also hear evidence from South Yorkshire's chief constable David Crompton, former chief constable Meredydd Hughes, senior Rotherham Council official Joyce Thacker and NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless, who is leading a review into the Home Office's handling of abuse allegations. Mr Hughes, who was chief constable from 2004-2010, said he had "no understanding of the scale and scope of what was going on in Rotherham".
'Deeply troubling' 'Impossible to believe'
"This is not something I would have given a blind eye to, nor something I would have wilfully ignored," he told committee chairman Keith Vaz.
During tense exchanges, Mr Vaz said: "The committee doesn't accept that you didn't know anything about child grooming in your area."
He said the former chief constable's claims of ignorance were "impossible to believe".
Mr Hughes said to the "best of his memory" he had not seen three of the four reports that highlighted the problem of child grooming in Rotherham during the period he was chief constable.
He told the committee: "This is a hideous crime, I am deeply embarrassed, I can say with honesty I had no idea of the scale and scope of this."
The Home Affairs Select Committee will also hear evidence from South Yorkshire's chief constable David Crompton, senior Rotherham Council official Joyce Thacker and NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless, who is leading a review into the Home Office's handling of abuse allegations.
Mr Wright, Mr Crompton and Ms Thacker previously gave evidence to the committee in 2012, when Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police were criticised for their handling of child sexual exploitation.Mr Wright, Mr Crompton and Ms Thacker previously gave evidence to the committee in 2012, when Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police were criticised for their handling of child sexual exploitation.
Professor Alexis Jay's report outlined how children had been subjected to trafficking, rape and other sexual exploitation over a 16-year period and how their abuse had been ignored by a range of agencies, including police, councillors and council officials.Professor Alexis Jay's report outlined how children had been subjected to trafficking, rape and other sexual exploitation over a 16-year period and how their abuse had been ignored by a range of agencies, including police, councillors and council officials.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: "The revelations from the independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham are deeply troubling. Earlier Mr Vaz said the committee wanted to know how the sexual exploitation of children on a "horrifying scale" had been allowed to go unchallenged for so long.
"The committee will be questioning those in positions of authority at the time that these offences were being committed on how the sexual exploitation of children on a horrifying scale was allowed to go unchallenged for so long."