Ex-Rotherham Boss Will Not Hand Back OBE

The former council leader in Rotherham has said he will not return his OBE, as he faced questions for the first time since stepping down last August.

Roger Stone, who was leader of Rotherham Council for more than a decade, said he could not have stopped child sexual exploitation in the town.

"Nobody will be able to knock out sexual exploitation because a lot of it is done by family members in the homes.

"I couldn't stop what was happening. But we were trying to make it less and better," Mr Stone told MPs.

When asked by Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk whether he would return his OBE, he said: "No. no, no, no.

"The reason for that is that I don't accept a number of the things that you've accused me of, at the end of the day."

Mr Stone appeared before the Commons Communities and Local Government Committee to answer questions about his leadership of Rotherham, after it emerged that hundreds of children had been raped, trafficked and groomed in the town over a 16-year period.

A damning report last year by Professor Alexis Jay found at least 1,400 children had been groomed for sex, many during Mr Stone’s time as leader.

A further report on the council's mishandling of child sexual exploitation by Louise Casey claimed that the council was "not fit for purpose" and accused Mr Stone of bullying.

Speaking to MPs, Stone denied the allegation.

He said: "I don't believe there was a macho bullying culture."