Ex-council leader Roger Stone denies bullying claims

DISGRACED Roger Stone denied presiding over a “macho, bullying” culture during his decade as Rotherham Borough Council leader.

The ex-councillor appeared before MPs on yesterday — his first public appearance since quitting six months ago as the Jay report was published.

Both the Jay and Casey reports criticised the council for fostering an inappropriate climate in which to address child sexual exploitation.

Mr Stone said: “I don’t believe there was a macho bullying culture. I never operated like that. I've never been a bully.

“Some officers were not going to be happy with me. I wanted to actually make change. I’ve made a lot of decisions where people weren’t happy.”

Mr Stone said he relied on his chief executive, senior officers and councillors and the police to keep him informed about CSE.

He added: “There were reports that came back that said they were on top of it. Every time we asked the police, Risky Business or whoever, they always told us they were on top of the situation.”

Mr Stone refused to give back his OBE — given in 2009 for political service — despite being in charge while hundreds of young Rotherham girls became victims of child sexual exploitation.

Communities and Local Government Committee member Simon Danczuk MP asked him if he thought it “right and proper” to return the honour.

Mr Stone — leader between 2003 and 2014 — said: “No, no, no, no. I don’t accept that.

“At the end of the day, it’s not just about the politics of Rotherham, it's in Europe, national, regional, international.”

But when asked if there was a failure of collective responsibility under him, Mr Stone said: “I’ve accepted responsibility for everything else. I’ll accept responsibility for that.”

Louise Casey’s damning inspection led to the Government appointing commissioners to take over the council.

It followed last year’s Jay report, which found at least 1,400 CSE victims in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

You can see the whole of Roger Stone's evidence here http://bit.ly/1HvjpgP 

 

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