Row over Rotherham Council's new member of South Yorkshire's fire authority

Cllr Ken Wyatt has taken one of RMBC’s two places following the resignation of Cllr Stuart Sansome over his deselection by Labour.

Cllr Wyatt is one of four members left on the council who were at the seminar, about which Prof Alexis Jay said no attendees could say they did not know CSE was happening in Rotherham.

Cllr Ball told Monday’s fire authority meeting that he “cannot work with a councillor who neglected his duties”.

He added: “Appointing Ken Wyatt to a position of authority and leadership is unacceptable. It is unacceptable to survivors and it should be unacceptable to everyone here.”

Rotherham’s Labour group leader Cllr Chris Read said: “Ken Wyatt has spent a lifetime in public service, not least with the ambulance service and as a justice of the peace, and his experience of working within the emergency services for a long time makes him ideally placed to support and challenge the fire authority.

“On the other hand, Simon Ball was accused by his own Conservative predecessor of ‘bullying’.

“While his government are still making cuts to support services for survivors of sexual abuse here in Rotherham right now and rape convictions are at an all-time low, he may hope that this kind of outburst will save his own skin – but the public of Rotherham increasingly know that the Tories have nothing positive to offer.”