Others are equally guilty

I UNDERSTAND the enthusiasm for dumping the blame for what happened at Cambridge House half a century ago on Rochdale council (Observer 23 September). It’s the old story of ‘where there’s blame there’s a claim’.

But there are other individuals and organisations equally guilty of bringing about a situation which led to Cyril Smith never having to answer for his actions. The later Mr Roger Chadwick is on record as saying that he obtained ‘notarised’ statements from some of the young men involved in the mid 1960s which he passed on to the then Chief Constable and the then Labour agent.

After the Rochdale Alternative Paper, RAP, published a wellresearched account of Cyril’s antics, based upon affidavits sworn by the young men on the receiving end, in April/ May 1979, the local, regional and national press declined to run the story and the Rochdale electorate ignored it. The result was Cyril was returned to parliament with an increased majority, the Liberal leadership could downplay his antics and he remained an MP for 13 more years.

It was only through the persistence of John Walker, co-editor of RAP and Brian Bamford, a journalist who for years had tried to prevent the RAP article being forgotten, the story of what had happened at Cambridge House finally became public knowledge.

In July 2012 they re-located a man who had been one of the subjects of the RAP article and another man who had been the at the hostel, but who had never been interviewed by the police or by RAP.

Their accounts came to the attention of political blogger Paul Waugh who interviewed one of the men and later drew Simon Danczuk’s attention to the story.

What happened at Cambridge House wasn’t about ‘sex’ it was about abuse of power. There is no need to sensationalise it to suit present day prurience. Les May Crescent Road

SHAME ON SPINELESS

I’VE watched the news from Granada letting us know about the child abuse which was going on at Knowl View etc some 40 years ago.

I felt sick to the stomach.

Just what have we got running this once lovely town?

Shame on all you who knew about it and didn’t do anything about it. You are also guilty - as much as the perpetrators.

How could you allow it to be going on? You were spineless the lot of you!

Shame on you! Shame! shame! shame!

I can honestly say that the only politician of recent times who had any guts was Simon Danczuk. He, at least, wasn’t afraid of speaking up. Yet look what has happened.

He dared to speak out and that is exactly what the people who knew what was going on with the children should have done.

How could this have gone on and this place we live in allowed it? Doris Abdul Rochdale

PITCHED INTO CONFUSION

COUNCIL want to promote football/rugby pitches throughout the borough benefiting many youngsters in many ways but in the previous Observer it had an article showing Andy Kelly concerned that the Soccer Village at Birchinley Manor may have houses built on it.

Has our council forgotten this area? Curious, Rochdale ●●This image, titled Early morning breakfast, was submitted by Eileen Thompson. Email your pictures to rochdaleobserver@menmedia.co.uk or upload them to flickr.com/groups/rochdalepics

PUSHED FROM PILLAR TO POST

IT’S disgraceful that our council are moving what’s left of the stallholders to Lord Square, uneven access with the steps from the old Lloyds Bank.

Why can’t they move into the Beales building?

These stallholders are struggling to make a living but our council is pushing them from pillar to post. Market Browser

USE MONEY FOR SERVICES

A BLACK hole of £33 million cuts to be made.

This would be smaller if 58 greedy councillors and leaders didn’t reward themselves with a scandalous 34 per cent rise in their pockets.

This money should have been used for vital services.

And which people are going to have more suffering? The sick, disabled and elderly. Carer Rochdale