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27.9.04
Lib Dem Social Services spokesperson Ron Aitken has expressed 'deep concern' following the news that no senior managers or politicians are to resign following the revelations last week that Haringey Council had employed a convicted paedophile, Dennis Bell, as a school bus driver.
Bell, who had a string of nine convictions dating back to 1972, was employed to drive a bus for disabled children without police checks. He worked for Haringey for several months before police following up a motor offence raised the alarm.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Ron Aitken had tabled a series of questions under Urgent Business to the Director of Social Services and Lead Member Cllr Kate Wynne for a key Child Protection meeting on 23 September.
However, Labour Councillor George Meehan, who chairs the Children Services Advisory Panel, ruled that the questions relating to the employment by Haringey of Bell were "not urgent business but very old business indeed".
Cllr Meehan refused to allow Cllr Aitken to state his reasons for demanding the resignations of leading politicians and senior managers. Cllr Aitken says that Haringey Council leaders' failure to take responsibility for the near-catastrophic failure to police check Bell demonstrated how little they had learned from Victoria Climbie tragedy.
Cllr Aitken Comments: "Yet again, arrogant Labour politicians, some of whom were criticised by Lord Laming's Report on the death of Victoria Climbie, have refused to face up to their mistakes.
"Cllr Meehan does not think employing a paedophile is an urgent matter for a child protection meeting and that is deeply worrying. I hope that some of the Labour politicians and senior managers, who kept this quiet, re-examine their consciences and resign".
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