Lessons have been learnt, it’s all in the past, times have changed, all the fault of a handful of rotten apples in a very big barrel. It’s the common response when widespread wrongdoing is uncovered in any organisation, but particularly with the public authorities.

It summed up the response to the 2021 inquiries led by Suzanne Tanner KC into sexual abuse in Edinburgh’s social work department, and the City of Edinburgh Council’s wider whistleblowing culture.

Corporate culture takes a long time to change, and with a new chief executive appointed this year, perhaps things will be different at Edinburgh Council, but with chaos in the political leadership there is no guarantee that political scrutiny will be effective.

In fact there is mounting evidence to suggest weak political leadership is part of the problem, such as the scandal which still embroils the recently resigned leader Cammy Day over allegations about inappropriate messaging of two Ukrainian refugees.

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Susan Aitken is gaslighting Glasgow, this city is a filthy pigsty

Day’s statement was hardly a model of contrition. “The recent commentary on my personal life is detracting from the important work this Labour-led council does for the people of Edinburgh,” he wrote to chief executive Paul Lawrence, but while the initial allegations might be unpalatable to many people ─ and difficult to brush aside for someone in a position of civic leadership........

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