Services school shame

welfare. Mrs Newman advised the commission for several years before stepping down last year ‘to spend more time with her family overseas.’

Alun Jones, Principal of Chetham’s School of Music, told the M.E.N.: “Pauline Newman was nominated as a governor of Chetham’s by Manchester council in 2014, and then became chair of the safeguarding committee until last year. Pauline was one part of a team and school community here at Chetham’s who made enormous strides in implementing world-class safeguarding mechanisms, which were described as impeccable by independent inspectors in 2017.

Council leader Sir Richard Leese, who was also leader at the time, told a council meeting last week said he did not know about Operation Augusta and the wider issue of children in the council’s care being sexually exploited.

However, he admitted it was ‘abundantly clear’ that a ‘very significant number of young people were let down by us and by the police at that time.’

Mr Leese described the closing down of Operation Augusta as ‘the wrong decision.’

Former chief executive of Manchester council, Sir

Howard Bernstein was ultimately responsible for the performance of the children’s services department in 2004-05. When contacted by the M.E.N he said he was unable to comment.

“This is a council issue,” he said. “I retired from the council two-anda-half years ago.”

Susan Cooley has been the Labour councillor for Brooklands in Wythenshawe for almost 25 years.

In that time, she has served as executive member for social care, chair of the health and well-being overview and scrutiny committee,deputy chair of the social services committee and on the Manchester adoption panel. She has also served as a governor at three schools.

Mrs Cooley was the executive member for Health and Social Care in 200405 when the Operation Augusta investigation into grooming was launched and subsequently dropped. She declined to comment when contacted by the M.E.N.

Jeff Smith is one of several Labour MPs in the region to have formerly served as an executive member at the council. He was the first to hold the newly-created portfolio of children’s services when it was split from health and social care in 2006.

He said in a statement: “I wasn’t made aware of Operation Augusta during my time as a councillor, and like everyone who learnt about this scandal recently, I was shocked and appalled by the report.”

Former Greater Manchester Police detective Maggie Oliver first blew the whistle on allegations of botched investigations into child sexual exploitation in 2012.

In the wake of the Rochdale grooming scandal, she said she had been part of an investigation into a previous sex grooming scandal in 2004 which was almost identical, referring to Operation Augusta. Afzal Khan, now Labour MP for Gorton, was the executive member for children’s services between 2011 and 2013.

When asked when he first heard of Operation Augusta, Mr Khan said he ‘did not recall’ that detail, ‘but believed it was considerably after his time as executive member.’ He said he had no knowledge of the police operation or why it was dropped.

The current council chief executive Joanne Roney OBE, said: “The report makes for painful reading.

“We recognise that some of the social work practice and management oversight around 15 years ago fell far below the high standards we now expect.

“Our prime concern throughout this process has been the interests of the young people directly affected, ensuring that their identities were protected, they were kept informed and that effective actions were taken wherever possible in the interests of justice.

“We would urge anyone affected by this report to come forward to us or the police. They will be listened to and supported.”

Council chief executive Joanne Rooney