A whistleblower MP has accused a council’s “activist” staff of putting diversity and inclusion above children’s safeguarding. Tory MP Rebecca Paul, a Surrey County Council councillor, has told how she reported a “deeply concerning photo” of now convicted pedophile Stephen Ireland with a child to both protection officials at the council and Surrey Police in 2023.
But her alarm about the 2021 photo was allegedly met with an informal complaint against her by county council officers. She also said she was asked to halt communication with staff on the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) portfolio without cabinet members’ approval.
Ms Paul said: “Many officers, and this includes some of the most senior, are not acting impartially in their roles. Some I would go as far to say are activists. . . .
“Imagine what signal it sends to council employees when someone is removed from their role for rightly flagging a child safeguarding concern? It makes them much less likely to report something when it doesn’t fit with senior officers’ world view. Surrey County Council need to urgently release the findings of the independent review and take real action to address this culture.”
Ireland was jailed for 24 years in June after being found guilty in March of raping an “extremely vulnerable” 12-year-old boy.
Source: MP accuses ‘activist’ council staff of failing to protect children | Politics | News | Express.co.uk