‘More people could die’, claim ex-staff at housing body criticised after Awaab Ishak’s death
Two former employees of the housing association that managed the flat in which mould killed Awaab Ishak have claimed more people could die as they accused it of having a “toxic and bullying culture”.
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) controls more than 12,000 homes in the area.
Two years on from Awaab’s death, Sky News witnessed a number of properties on the Freehold Estate in Rochdale, where the boy and his family lived, with severe mould and damp.
Two ex-employees who resigned over the culture within RBH told Sky News that tenants are suffering because of the poor standard of accommodation.
Gareth Swarbrick, its chief executive, was sacked on Saturday, with the association’s board saying he had been removed with “immediate effect”.
An employee who worked at RBH for six years, Dave (not his real name), told Sky News: “The culture was horrible. It was bullying, toxic for the employees. It’s not fit for purpose at all. It’s meant to be run as a charity for the focus of the tenants [but] nothing could be further from the truth.”
When Awaab’s parents were complaining about the state of their mouldy and damp flat in 2017, Dave was working in the association’s call centre.
“All the staff were advised to tell anyone ringing up to just open up your trickle vents on your window – make sure you ventilate your property and put heating on and they would fob people off,” he said.
“The total disregard for the tenants and cost-cutting was so obvious and it’s really sad to be honest.”
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‘Awaab’s death must not be in vain’
‘Association is racist’
Awaab’s parents, who fled Sudan to seek asylum in the UK, claimed the housing association was racist.
Dave said he agrees with them. “In my view, yes [it is racist],” he said. “It’s sad to say but it is.”
RBH refuted his claim, telling Sky News: “We are not a racist organisation, but we accept that assumptions were wrongly made in Awaab’s case. We are taking swift action to review our current approach and changes we need to make.”
There is only one way to avoid another tragedy, Dave claimed. “I definitely think there’ll be more deaths due to the lack of repairs,” he said.
“I think the only way that tenants will be safe is if RBH is closed down and the council takes it back over.”
Another employee, who resigned this year, quit after she heard about how and why Awaab had died.
Julie (not her real name) claimed the management “covered it up” and did not tell staff what had happened.
She told Sky News: “I knew one day RBH would make headlines because of how bad it was getting. I just hoped it wasn’t through the death of someone, especially a tenant. Even worse, it was a little boy.”
Julie added: “It just wasn’t right what they were doing. They were saying one thing and doing another – and that wasn’t right for me morally.”
On the culture of RBH, Julie commented: “It was toxic and people were getting away with treating employees how they wanted to, especially ones that challenged decisions. They’d be disciplined. In the end it just put a fear factor through the organisation.”
Former chief executive of RBH, Gareth Swarbrick, has been sacked
Awaab died in December 2020. A coroner’s inquest concluded this month that he lost his life because of prolonged exposure to mould and damp in the inadequate accommodation provided by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
This should be a defining moment for the social housing sector, the coroner said.
RBH told Sky News it was “disappointed that two former employees claimed there is a culture of bullying”, adding: “We are an employee and tenant-owned mutual organisation with a strong set of values at our core. Our culture is one of collaboration and mutuality.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
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As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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