Crime Chief to act on Child Abuse

GREATER Manchester's new police and crime boss has called for a meeting of the area's ten town hall leaders to find ways to protect kids from sexual exploitation; such as the recently exposed offences of Cyril Smith, the former Rochdale MP, accused of abusing young boys, and the recent case of nine men convicted for grooming teenage lasses for sex in Heywood.  Tony Lloyd, elected as the first police and crime commisioner for Greater Manchester last month, gave the topic of sex abuse top priority for the coming 'first meeting of the police and crime panel,' according to tomorrow's Heywood Advertiser.

Elected to his post two weeks ago, Mr. Lloyd said:  'We know the events that took place in Rochdale shocked people across all the communities in Greater Manchester but we also know these aren't isolated cases.'  The meeting is expected to take place early next year.

It was well known in Rochdale that Smith had been accused of abusing young lads, and the police were convinced in the 1960s that the former Liberal MP for Rochdale, was an active paederast after they investigated claims he interfered with boys at Cambridge House hostel for lads.  Yet, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the case at that time.

Since then Rochdale Council has been seriously slagged-off for not following up of signs that teenage girls were the subject of sexual grooming by a ring of taxi operatives linked to two takeaways - the Balti and Tasty Bities -  in the Heywood area of Rochdale.  Both of these are now under new management.