All the times M.E.N. tried to speak to Gareth…

All the times M.E.N. tried to speak to Gareth Swarbrick as under-fire housing boss STILL avoids questions

The familiar request has gone in to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) again this morning. We've wanted to chat to Gareth Swarbrick for a while.

The housing association's chief executive defiantly announced last night (November 17) that he will not be resigning following the death of Awaab Ishak. It comes after days of mounting pressure locally and nationally, while the Housing Ombudsman has also launched a fresh probe into RBH over three separate 'medium or high risk' mould issues.

Rochdale Council handed over a letter urging Mr Swarbrick to go while housing secretary Michael Gove insisted it was 'beggars belief' the boss was still in post. But in a statement posted along with a video showing him reading off a piece of paper, Mr Swarbrick revealed he had the backing of the RBH board to continue in his role.

With Mr Swarbrick continuing in post, it makes the need to hold him to account even more urgent, for his tenants and the people of Rochdale. Yet so far, and with the national media also circling following the inquest's conclusion, the high-earning boss is continuing to evade media scrutiny.

When the Manchester Evening News first published its investigation into the Freehold estate, a lengthy statement was received from Mr Swarbrick's representatives. But in the months that followed, he's been rather quiet.

Awaab Ishak lived in a flat hit by damp and mould on Rochdale's Freehold estate (Manchester Evening News / family handout)

As we first reported on the huge pay hikes Mr Swarbrick had enjoyed in recent years, we put a series of questions directly to him and the other executives on big money about how RBH was tackling damp and mould on Freehold following our investigation. We were told that those senior leaders could not comment due to Awaab's inquest in November.

For the tenants who have been continuing to live with damp and mould after Awaab's death, we felt it was a poor excuse. We knocked on Mr Swarbrick's door on September 30 for answers, and after there was no answer, we managed to speak to him on the phone.

He told me: "You've had a statement from RBH. I'm not in a position to say anything other than that. I think you understand that."

With Awaab's inquest nearing its conclusion, we then asked last Friday for an interview with Mr Swarbrick after proceedings had come to an end. On Monday, the request was 'politely declined'.

We challenged that decision, we were told a statement would come, but that our request would be kept in mind. We've since tried calling Mr Swarbrick on Wednesday and Thursday, at different times of the day, but our repeated attempts were not answered.

The M.E.N. is now not alone in trying to get hold of Mr Swarbrick. Reporters from national outlets have bemoaned the chief executive's avoidance of questioning on Twitter this week, while this morning Mr Swarbrick brushed off questions from Sky News on his doorstep.

It will go on until Mr Swarbrick speaks to us, because there are vital questions that need answering following Awaab's inquest. RBH tells us it has learned lessons.

But it has a long, long way to go before it can rebuild the trust of people in Greater Manchester. Being accountable for what happened, taking questions on why it happened and properly explaining how the tragedy that unfolded on Freehold cannot happen again, is a vital first step for that.