Rochdale MBC, and its leader Cllr Colin Lambert, have successfully defended a High Court defamation suit brought by two children's care home operators.

Meadows Care, the largest of seven commercial operators in Rochdale, and Pathfinders Childcare, which has two homes in the borough, claimed special damages amounting to more than £670,000 for loss of business arising from comments the Rochdale leader made on 30 May 2012, at the launch of the Rochdale Community Forum.

The Forum was set up in the immediate aftermath of the Rochdale grooming case, which saw nine men convicted of serious sexual offences against more than 40 girls in the Rochdale area.