Farnell: ‘I did not lie to inquiry’
FORMER Rochdale council leader Richard Farnell has denied lying to the national inquiry on child abuse, declaring himself ‘shocked’ at its findings.
Coun Farnell has said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for ‘grave mistakes’ and ‘unacceptable failings’ of the council while he was in charge for the first time during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But he continued to insist he was unaware of the abuse at the time, saying in a statement ‘I told the truth.’
“Failures by Rochdale council, the police and other agencies in protecting children from abuse should never have happened,” he said. The inquiry covered events going back 60 years.
“For the period in which I was leader of Rochdale council from 1986 to 1992, I am deeply sorry and I apologise to all those who suffered as a result of the grave mistakes made and the unacceptable failings of the council in respect of the children being cared for at Knowl View. However, I am shocked at the findings of the Inquiry. I told the truth.”
In his statement Coun Farnell refuted the claims of the inquiry’s report.
“There is clear evidence that I was NOT informed about Knowl View during my time as leader”, he said.
“The three most senior officers of the council responsible for informing and advising the leader of the council – the chief executive, the director of education and the director of social services - ALL said in evidence they did not tell me about Knowl View.
“The inquiry has examined 140,000 pages of documents relating to Knowl View. There is not one single letter, memo, report, council minute or briefing note addressed to me informing me about the events at Knowl View.
“A two-year police investigation found no evidence whatsoever that I was involved in a cover-up of events at Knowl View.
“I now need time to consider the report in full before commenting further.”