Conservative Les Wicks, the council's portfolio holder for children's services, said: "I would like to unreservedly apologise to the people of Medway, our children and families, for our failure to deliver the children's safeguarding service that our children and young people in Medway deserve.
"The situation is not good enough and is not acceptable."
Neil Davies, the authority's chief executive, said it was an "immensely disappointing" report for the authority, which had its child protection services rated adequate following its last inspection in 2011
A drop in standards... surely not?
