Petition to remove former mayor’s picture from Rotherham Town Hall following grooming scandal

The petition, which has 27 signatures so far, calls for a QR code to replace the picture, linking visitors to a website informing them of Mr Wright’s ‘failure to do his job’ as head of children’s services, from 2005 until 2010.

He also resigned as South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner following the Jay report in 2014, which found that there were at least 1,400 victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the town between 1997 and 2013.

Councillor Simon Ball, leader of the Conservatives, said: “To have his picture displayed within the walls of the Town Hall is a travesty and an insult to those that suffered from CSE and we call on Rotherham Council to remove this picture and replace it with a QR code that will inform people why there is a gap in pictures that will occur due to the removal of this former disgraced mayor’s picture.

“We should not be remembering people or displaying people who let our town so badly down, so with that this council should immediately remove the picture once this petition and debate has occurred.”

A spokesperson for Rotherham Council said: “The petition concerning the removal of a former mayor’s picture will be considered in accordance with the council’s processes.”

The council’s petition scheme can be found in part V of the Council’s Constitution Rules.”

The petition can be found here.