Rochdale MBC has apologised to victims of child abuse ahead of what is likely to be a critical investigation by an independent national inquiry.

In an unsolicited statement yesterday, Rochdale's current chief executive, Steve Rumbelow, issued a wide-ranging apology to former residents at two institutions widely linked to historical abuse allegations against the town's former MP, Cyril Smith and other men: the Cambridge House hostel for young men and the former Knowl View school.