Speaking in the debate on Lancashire’s motion to cooperate fully with the national grooming gangs inquiry, Burnley’s Cllr Liam Thomson set out the council’s duty in plain terms. His speech is above.
“For me, this is really quite simple,” he told the chamber. “We have a moral obligation and duty to ensure, when the time comes for this inquiry, we do everything in our power to assist it. No stone must be left unturned.” The victims and survivors, he said, “deserve nothing less than the truth and the justice they have been denied for too long.”
In practice, he said, that means “preserving records, cooperating fully with the inquiry, providing every piece of information that is requested, and supporting any current or former members of staff who are asked to give evidence.” This “should never be about protecting institutions or reputations,” he added. “It is about protecting children, supporting survivors, and ensuring the lessons are learned so these failures never happen again.”
Cllr Thomson said that where mistakes were made they must be acknowledged, and that where individuals failed in their duty “they should be held to account.” He described the scandal as one that “will undoubtedly go down as one of Britain’s darkest,” and said history would judge the public bodies that had the chance to uncover the truth.
The motion was carried on a recorded vote by 67 to 0. You can read our full report and watch Cllr Mark Poulton speak in the same debate.