I cannot understand how he can continue to deny he knew nothing about the abuse.

If he's being honest about that, then it goes to heart of his dysfunctional management style.

As for the excuses by the children's department that they were afraid of being called racist is just rubbish, particularly when these Pakistani gangs had not only been flagged up by schools and various other individuals, but by other court cases involving these gangs. Those poor children were just considered not worth the effort it seems to me. What a truely appalling situation with weak and feeble arguments as to why nothing was done about it.