Protesters heckled and booed Mayor Andy Burnham at the first public meeting held since the release of the damning Oldham Child Sexual Exploitation report. As the Mayor of Greater Manchester entered the council chamber on Monday evening (June 27), muffled comments and boos could be heard from the crowd of people sat in the public gallery.
A group of around 100 people were allowed into the main chamber at the Civic Centre, with many holding up paper signs reading 'Cover Up'. The meeting was held to give the public and councillors the chance to quiz officials about the findings of the report, which found vulnerable children had been failed.
As councillors took their seats, and Reverend Jean Hurlston opened the meeting by reading a prayer, she was also heckled and met with laughter and scoffs from the protesters. Many even turned their backs on the chamber during the speech.
READ OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE MEETING HERE
With the meeting expected to attract the attention of the public following the release of the report just last week, a second room was set up for an overspill of people, where the meeting was live streamed. All guests were checked over by security when entering the Civic Centre.
At the beginning of the meeting, Council leader Amanda Chadderton announced they had removed the time limit for questions, with herself, Chief Supt Chris Bowen of GMP, director of children's services Gerard Jones and Mayor Andy Burnham sitting on the panel. After Councillor Chadderton addressed the chamber, she was met with furious calls to resign.
The public reaction to many of the statements was also one of anger. Shouting could even be heard coming from the spillover room, where it is thought another large crowd of people were gathered to watch the meeting.
The review, carried out by experts Malcolm Newsam and Gary Ridgway, found that vulnerable children had been failed despite efforts to protect them between 2011 and 2014. You can read more on the report here.
A specific case dating back to 2005 involving ‘Sophie’, a 12-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped, is singled out for intense criticism for the way authorities dealt with the investigation into her assaults by strangers, and for the failure to take action when she was being groomed online.
Read the top stories from across Greater Manchester here.
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