Knowl View victims say Councillor Richard Farnell not "fit to be leader of the council"

Councillor Richard Farnell

The victims of sexual abuse and exploitation at Knowl View School say that Councillor Richard Farnell "isn’t fit to be leader of the council now".

Councillor Farnell, who was the leader of Rochdale Council between 1986 and 1992, during which time young boys were subjected to horrific rapes and sexual assaults at the Council run special school, gave evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse on Tuesday (24 October) and repeatedly insisted he knew nothing of what was happening at the school.

Richard Scorer, head of the abuse team at Manchester law firm Slater and Gordon, the solicitor representing victims of Knowl View, said: “My clients feel it beggars belief that the council leader would know nothing of a scandal of this magnitude at a time when all his senior staff did.

“It isn’t for me to say whether he knew or not, but if he didn’t know, or if he turned a blind eye, then the victims feel that he isn’t fit to be leader of the council now. They feel strongly that Rochdale needs a new generation of political leaders who can tackle these problems effectively.

“They will live with the effects of what happened for the rest of their lives and it adds insult to injury when senior politicians try to deny knowledge and responsibility."

Councillor Farnell has been invited to comment.