East London News A Force for the community…
THE ONLY fitting response to Cllr Rachael Saunders’s resignation is for John Biggs to follow her example says Cllr Oliur Rahman, Leader of the Opposition, The Independent Group of Tower Hamlets Councillors.
“I have been calling for months for Cllr Rachael Saunders, Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets, to resign after letting our children down,” said Cllr Rahman. “She has finally, this evening, 8th August, announced that she is resigning as Deputy Mayor and from her Cabinet position. She has also said that she will not stand again as a council candidate in May 2018 – though she will serve out her term of office as a backbench councillor until those elections.”
Cllr Oliur Rahman
However, Cllr Rahman also pointed out that many Councillors are concerned that Cllr Saunders should not be made a scapegoat and that the current mayor, John Biggs, should explain to the Council how Cllr Saunders’s Children’s Services department was able to get such a negative report from Ofsted earlier this year.
Cllr Saunders may have been first in the line – but how was it that John Biggs’s Administration was unable to spot what was going on and step in to correct it before it was too late? Several Councillors have been worried about what else may be going on under John Biggs’s nose without anyone noticing.
“She was a liability,” concluded Cllr Rahman, “and failed in the duty of care towards the community and especially our children. I am calling on Mayor Biggs to consider his position too.”
•Full story:
Cllr Rachael Saunders in shock resignation
•Read more about it:
Indes grill Biggs on safety and services
Biggs in “Luther Rahman” gaffe
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