A former charity boss has been accused in Parliament of "spreading misinformation" in relation to child sexual exploitation in Oldham.
Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon used parliamentary privilege to accuse Raja Miah of seeking to make financial and political gain by "spreading hate, racism, and disinformation" on his online blog.
The Labour MP said Mr Miah was motivated by a "self-declared campaign of revenge" after the collapse of a free school chain on his watch.
Mr McMahon said videos and posts on Mr Miah's website were "diverting focus away from justice for victims" of abuse in Oldham.
The comments come a week after the publication of the damning Oldham Child Sexual Exploitation report.
The report, carried out by experts Malcolm Newsam and Gary Ridgway, found that vulnerable children had been failed despite efforts to protect them between 2011 and 2014.
A specific case dating back to 2005 involving ‘Sophie’, a 12-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped, is singled out for intense criticism for the way authorities dealt with the investigation into her assaults by strangers, and for the failure to take action when she was being groomed online.
In Sophie’s case both Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Oldham council were said to be more concerned with their reputations and ‘covering up their failures’ than acknowledging the harm done to the young girl.
However, when assessing the claims about a widespread cover up of abuse in the borough, the review team found ‘no evidence’ to support this.
They stated: "We have concluded that we have been provided with no evidence, either through our interviews or documentary review, to suggest that senior managers or councillors sought to cover up the existence of child sexual exploitation in Oldham or the complexity involved in tackling the perpetrators."
Mr McMahon, speaking in the Commons, said: "We have seen it before, with far-right protests taking to the streets, smearing whole communities and setting out to divide.
"And its increased significantly with the rise of social media and conspiracy theorists' platforms such Recusant Nine platform lead by Raja Miah, who seeks to make financial and political gain, by spreading hate, racism, and disinformation.
"We need to be clear with the people of Oldham, about the motivations that sit behind this has little to do with being a ‘Victims Champion’."
He added: "Why am I being so direct? Because as chief executive of the Collective Spirit Free School he presided over a catalogue of serious safeguarding incidents, ranging from violence against pupils to child abuse in school.
"Not only this, but unbelievably, he responded to a catalogue of abuse at the Collective Spirit Free School, as lies. One of the most serious cases was confirmed by a Serious Case Review by the Manchester Safeguarding Partnership where failings at the school prolonged the sexual abuse of a victim.
"And to add to that, allegations of teachers sexualising children, and basic measures like background checks not being carried out, and that the safeguarding register was falsified by staff during an inspection, to cover up their failings.
"To preside over this is one thing, but to deny it, is not the actions of someone who puts victims first."
Mr McMahon said it was this that motivated Mr Miah to start his "campaign of abuse, harassment, and division in Oldham".
But he added: "But we need to be clear that there are people with legitimate concerns that the report sought to address.
"It was also clear that there are victims who have been let down and when they came for support were turned away.
"It is clear others have loved ones who have been victims, and there are others who are horrified at the reality of abuse which takes place. If we don’t build trust and a common ground in the mainstream of politics, the conditions for such a sensitive issue to be used to divide a town are set.
"And so, the question is, for those of us that are genuinely determined to move forward and to repair the hurt, what are we going to do differently to create the environment where people can come together to work towards fighting against the evil of child abuse."
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