Baby P council chief loses sacking battle

The decision by Children's Secretary Ed Balls to strip former children's services chief Sharon Shoesmith of her post following the death of Baby P was upheld by the High Court today.

Mr Justice Foskett ruled her controversial removal from her child safety role with Haringey Council in north London in December 2008 "cannot be impugned on the grounds of unfairness".

Ms Shoesmith, who had been earning £130,000 a year, said her career had been ruined by a media witch-hunt, political pressure and a "flagrant breach of the rules of natural justice".

Mr Balls acted following a damning report by Ofsted inspectors sent in by him to carry out an urgent review soon after the trial which led to the jailing of those responsible for the death of Baby P, now named as Peter Connelly.

The 57-year-old was removed by Mr Balls on December 1, and she was also formally sacked from her employment by Haringey council a week later.

Mr Justice Foskett, sitting in London, said it was "too simplistic" to suggest Mr Balls had been driven by "party politics" or had been improperly influenced by media pressure, including a petition from a national newspaper.

He expressed concern that Mr Balls was "persuaded to offer his opinion" that Ms Shoesmith should be dismissed.

But he said he could find "no sustainable basis" for the suggestion that there was "political or other improper interference in the Ofsted inspection, or the report-writing process by, or on behalf, of the Secretary of State".

There were "strong grounds" for thinking that Ms Shoesmith and others subjected to the inspection "did not have a full, fair and measured opportunity to explain their position" - but that "did not invalidate what Ofsted did".

The judge also expressed concern over Haringey's decision to dismiss her, but said it was for an employment tribunal to decide whether she had been treated unfairly by the council.

The judge said: "In a nutshell, I have not been satisfied that the procedures at Haringey gave the appearance of fairness."

Later Ms Shoesmith's legal team said they were "disappointed" by the judgment and added they were considering whether they had grounds to launch an appeal.

Her solicitors, London-based Beachcroft, said in a statement: "We are disappointed that, despite the serious criticisms made by the judge of Ofsted, the Secretary of State and Haringey Council, the judge has not upheld Sharon's claim for judicial review.

"We nevertheless welcome the finding that Haringey acted unfairly in dismissing Sharon.

"We will be giving careful consideration to the judgment, which runs to some 200 pages, and considering whether there are grounds for an appeal."

Mr Balls said in a statement following the judgment: "The death of Baby Peter was a terrible and heinous crime.

"It personally affected many millions of people across the country who were left disbelieving that he could have suffered for so long without proper help from the services who were supposed to keep him safe.

"The urgent Ofsted inspection, which I commissioned following the end of the trial, found very serious failings in children's services in Haringey...

"My decision was based on the evidence Ofsted presented to me in the joint area review inspection, which the judge has found was carried out correctly."

Baby P was just 17 months old when he died in August 2007 at the hands of his mother Tracey Connelly, her lover Steven Barker and their lodger, Barker's brother Jason Owen.

The boy had suffered 50 injuries despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over the final eight months of his life.

A series of reviews identified missed opportunities when officials could have saved the little boy's life if they had acted properly on the warning signs in front of them.