Plans to name street after council leader who LIED to child sex abuse inquiry ditched after outcry

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Rochdale council has U-turned on plans to name a street after late former leader Richard Farnell, who was found to have lied under oath to the national sex abuse inquiry.

A new street on the site of the old Kirkholt Working Men’s Club was to be christened ‘Richard Farnell Avenue’ - after the Labour councillor who died in 2021, aged 62.

It followed a request from local councillors who wanted to ‘recognise the contribution’ he made to the Balderstone and Kirkholt ward he represented for several years.

The late Coun Farnell - who had two stints as council leader - always strongly denied misleading the inquiry. But the controversial decision has now been reversed - and the road sign removed - after the move was fiercely criticised by Richard Scorer, the specialist abuse lawyer who represented victims at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA). READ MORE: Council boss in hot water after tweeting 'toilet paper' snap of rival's election leaflet A council spokesperson said the authority was aware of the ‘sensitivity around the issue’ and would now not be naming the street after the late councillor.