The housing boss, who failed to repair the mould-exposed flat where Awaab Ishak died, has been sacked.

Gareth Swarbrick will no longer serve his post as chief executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, the board have announced.

This comes a result as an inquest stating that two-year-old Awaab died from a respiratory condition caused by exposure to the mould.

His father had raised the issue for three years with the housing association however no action was taken before his son's death in 2020.

In a statement read out at a Rochdale vigil on Saturday, Awaab's family said they were "deeply saddened" that "RBH did nothing but express their confidence" in Mr Swarbrick before their announcement.

Christian Weaver, a member family's legal team, said "much more needs to be done" regarding the situation. Adding, the "public support has played a vital role" in the sacking.

A government source condoned Swarbrick's removal from the £185,000 per year role "for his profound failings".

"RBH and their board still have very serious questions to answer," the source said.

"Why did they give him their full backing after the coroner's report and as recently as 24 hours ago? And why have they failed to answer basic questions about the state of their housing stock?"

Announcing Mr Swarbrick's removal, the RBH board said:

"Our original instincts were for Gareth to stay on to see the organisation through this difficult period and to make the necessary changes, but we all recognise that this is no longer tenable."

It said it would "continue to drive further improvements" under new leadership.

"As an organisation, we are deeply sorry for the death of Awaab and devastated that it happened in one of our homes."

"We must ensure this can never happen again. His death needs to be a wake-up call for everyone in housing, social care and health."

Mark Slater from the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, described RBH's firing of Mr Swarbrick as "a self-preservation tactic" and joined in calls for a charge of corporate manslaughter to be brought against the association, saying:

"there's corporate responsibility here - these individuals won't get away with cutting the head off the snake".

The inquest heard Awaab had consistently suffered from cold and respiratory issues died after being rushed to hospital with shortness of breath in December that year.

Mr Swarbrick initially apologised for the organisation's response regarding the mould but rejected calls to quit his job, stating he had the board's "full backing".

"We didn't recognise the level of risk to a little boy's health from the mould in the family's home [and] we allowed a legal disrepair process, widely used in the housing sector, to get in the way of promptly tackling the mould," he said.