Tears at child protection meeting

At an emotional meeting in Doncaster, held to "debate and discuss as a matter of urgency" the state of the council's children's services department, councillors from all parties called for the resignation of Mayor Martin Winter.

Labour group leader Joe Blackham branded the mayor a "practising bully", while Conservative councillor Allan Jones broke down in tears during his turn to address the room at Doncaster's Mansion House.

Garth Oxby, leader of the Independent Alliance group, said the mayor was "ducking and diving" to avoid culpability for the issues raised by an Ofsted inspection last month. He said: "We're not wishing to politicise the matter today, despite what the mayor says. I've tried to keep the politics out of today because there are children's issues to discuss."

He continued: "I think the mayoral system, under the present executive, and that is Mayor Winter, have failed this town for the past seven years. I think he's ducking and diving. Doncaster Borough Council are supposed to co-ordinate these matters and I think they've singularly failed to do that."

Seven children have died in the area since late 2004 in cases involving abuse or neglect. Serious case reviews have been commissioned to find out what mistakes were made in each incident, although so far only three have been completed.

Ministers launched a review of children's services in Doncaster in response to "very serious" issues raised by the Ofsted inspection, which found the department to be "inadequate".

The meeting was held "in view of the importance of the matters related to child protection in the borough to put in place safeguards that fully ensure that this never happens again".

Councillors questioned the lack of improvement in services between the death of the first child in 2004 and the Ofsted inspection last year, as well as a lack of transparency within the authority and cost-cutting exercises within children's services.

Ms Patricia Schofield, Conservative group leader, said: "What I'm concerned about is not really on whose watch this happened. What I'm concerned about, and this is the case with every other councillor, is that it has happened, and we want to know it won't happen again. It's about the children who are in the system in Doncaster. and that has to be absolutely paramount, that those children who are alive and well now within the Doncaster authority stay alive and well."