Leicester Labour bickers while children are at risk

Over to the Leicester Mercury for a report on last night's meeting of Leicester City Council's overview scrutiny committee. The meeting was called to discuss a damning Osfted report on the council's children's social services department,

We join the report halfway through:

The meeting took an ill-tempered turn when Coun Kitterick asked Ms Craven to say when she had informally told the mayor about the problems she discovered in October shortly after her arrival. 

Sir Peter [Soulsby] attempted to answer the question but committee chairman Mohammed Dawood insisted the officer answer herself. 

Sir Peter then said: "Oh chair, honestly how silly can you get?" 

Coun Dawood said: "City mayor, you are so silly too."

As the great rugby referee Nigel Owens has been known to put it on such occasions: "You are both being very immature."

Advocates of the mayoral system argue that it provides leadership and accountability.

But when something goes wrong in Leicester, the city's elected mayor always announces that the blame lies elsewhere. Wherever the buck stops, it is not with him.