Government seeks appeal in Sharon Shoesmith case

Department for Education contests ruling that former Haringey children’s boss was unfairly sacked over death of Baby P The Department for Education has confirmed that it is seeking an appeal at the supreme court against the court of appeal ruling that Sharon Shoesmith was unfairly sacked following the death of Baby P. The court of appeal ruled in May that Shoesmith was unfairly sacked . A leading employment lawyer said she could receive as much as £1m if the decision was not overturned. A DfE spokesman said: “The government thinks that it was right in principle for Sharon Shoesmith to be removed from her post as director of children’s services. “Our initial application to appeal has been turned down by the court of appeal. We have now filed an application for permission to appeal to the supreme court.” The DfE’s statement said: “There are questions of constitutional importance involved in this case, beyond the specific question about whether Ed Balls should have had a further meeting with Sharon Shoesmith before removing her. “Our initial application to appeal has been turned down by the court of appeal. We have now filed an application for permission to appeal to the supreme court.” Shoesmith was removed from her post in December 2008 by Ed Balls, who was education secretary. She was then sacked by Haringey, which said it had lost trust in her. The axe fell after regulator Ofsted published a damning report after the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly exposing failings in her department. Lawyers argued that Shoesmith, 58, had been the victim of “a flagrant breach of natural justice” and that she had been driven from her £133,000-a-year post by a media witch-hunt and political pressure. They asked Lord Neuberger, master of the rolls, sitting in London with Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton to rule that her sacking without compensation was so legally flawed as to be null and void, and that she still remained entitled to her full salary and pension from Haringey up to the present day. Allowing her challenge, the judges ruled that Balls and Haringey had acted too hastily and in a way that was procedurally unfair because Shoesmith had not been given a proper chance to put her case. Peter Connelly 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 little 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 his life if they had acted properly on the warning signs. Baby P Child protection Ofsted Employment tribunals Local government guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 24, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.