Council bosses in Rotherham who were criticised for failing to protect 1,400 young girls from grooming gangs have gone on to become Government advisers, bankers and an “executive coach and mentor”. The Mail has more.
Sonia Sharp
Dr. Sharp served as Director of Children’s Services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2006 and acknowledged her failure to protect girls, saying: “You can’t be the Director of Children’s Services and not take responsibility for what happens to children.'” …
After a period working for Sheffield council, Dr. Sharp moved to Australia, where she became Deputy Secretary for Education in the state of Victoria.
Following the publication of the Jay report in 2014, calls grew on her to resign – which she eventually did in 2015. …
She is now a partner at consultancy EY Australia, with a profile on the company’s website describing her as having “dedicated over 30 years to public service, with 17 years as a senior executive in the U.K. leading education and child and family services, and most recently as Deputy Secretary in the Victorian Government”. …
Jahangir Akhtar
Mr. Akhtar became Deputy Leader of Rotherham council in 2011, also serving as Vice-Chairman of the South Yorkshire police and crime panel.
The Jay report suggested he may have decided to ignore a “politically inconvenient truth” when he claimed not to have been aware of the “deep-rooted problem of Pakistani-heritage perpetrators targeting young white girls”.
He was forced to ‘step aside’ from his role as deputy leader following allegations that he had been involved in a deal to help Arshid ‘Mad Ash’ Hussain, a relative accused of grooming an underage girl.
He then lost his seat to Ukip at last year’s local elections. …
Mr. Akhtar, a former taxi driver who was previously seen posing with Ed Miliband, was suspended from the Labour Party in 2014 and today works for Spanish bank Santander.
He is also the Director of a social enterprise providing “educational support services” and “social work activities” at a Rotherham mosque. …
Mr. Akhtar was also later stripped of his taxi-driver licence after a ‘fit and proper person’ test was introduced by the council.
Ged Fitzgerald
Mr. Fitzgerald was criticised for “missing opportunities” to tackle grooming while CEO of Rotherham Council from 2001 to 2003.
A report commissioned by the authority and released in 2017 was also critical of its former boss, finding that a “more rigorous” approach by the top official to child sexual exploitation could have resulted in a “very different” outcome for victims.
Despite his performance in Rotherham, Mr. Fitzgerald later headed up Sunderland City Council, Lancashire County Council and Liverpool City Council.
He was later arrested in 2017 following a probe into financial irregularities at Lancashire County Council and resigned from Liverpool City Council the next year.
In 2022, he was charged with misconduct in public office and procuring the misconduct of others.
He now advertises himself as an executive coach and is a certified member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.
His profile reads: “I am a former Chief Executive of 18 years standing who has moved into executive coaching and mentoring in 2020. I am self-employed.”
Worth reading in full.
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