Barely a day goes by at the moment without more revelations about child sexual exploitation (CSE) or abuse, and at the centre of the storm lies – this time, at least – Rotherham MBC.

And entering the centre of the Rotherham storm, heading up the intervention team appointed by communities secretary Eric Pickles, is Sir Derek Myers – the former chief executive of both Kensington & Chelsea RLBC and Hammersmith & Fulham LBC and one of the key architects of the tri-borough partnership.

Just days after his appointment as lead commission for the Rotherham intervention team, Sir Derek was back in London for the Prime Minister’s summit on CSE – and spared time to talk to The MJ.

To say the team has hit the ground running is a real understatement. As Sir Derek says of his first day: ‘We were appointed on the Thursday. At 9.30am on Friday we arrived in Rotherham, and by 10.30 we had set the budget.