Alan Atkin: Calls for councillor to resign for falling asleep during child sexual exploitation briefing

Wath councillor Alan Atkin was accused of falling asleep during the briefing to update Rotherham councillors on work to tackle child sexual exploitation in the borough, and has had the whip suspended.

Following the grooming scandal and subsequent Jay report in 2014, RMBC has held regular meetings to update councillors on work being done to ensure children are safe.

Councillors scrutinised the recommissioning of council support for survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE), as the current extension of service contracts comes to an end.

However, during yesterday’s improving lives select commission meeting, Cllr Atkin was accused of falling asleep.

He has since declined to comment, but told the BBC that he has 'not been sleeping for a while', and has been ‘trying to arrange a meeting with the doctor’.

He added: "I’m a human being, people fall asleep sometimes. I put it down to my age and weight.

"People fall asleep at work all the time, don’t they? It happened, I wish it wouldn’t have happened. I was probably asleep for two minutes.

"Everybody is making a mountain out of a mole hill."

Conservative councillor Lewis Mills, who attended yesterday’s meeting, has now called on councillor Atkin to resign from the council.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I don’t think he really cares about the survivors.

"He’s trying to sweep it under the carpet.

"We go to meetings and we don’t fall asleep. It’s his job to scrutinise – how can you scrutinise something if you’re asleep?

"He’s basically saying he’s not fit for office."

Councillor Chris Read, leader of the council, said: "The Labour Party takes tackling child exploitation incredibly seriously and the response of the council to threats to children has been transformed under our leadership in recent years, as the presentation to Scrutiny showed.

"Cllr Atkin’s conduct in yesterday’s meeting was far from the standard of professionalism and diligence we expect from our elected officials, and as such we have suspended the whip from Cllr Atkin.

"We are a changed Labour Party, and the public have a right to know that all Labour Party elected officials are of the highest standard."