| Flowers in Gods Garden
- Articles |
04/12/01 - Police told to track
down social worker as her council obstructs
Terri Judd
Independent
THE PUBLIC inquiry into the murder of eight-year-old
Victoria Climbie has proved almost as shocking as the
horrific death of the child.
Victoria's murder, at the hands of a great aunt and her
lover, was the result of a catastrophic failure of social
services, police and medical professionals. It was for
this reason that, following the pair's conviction, the
Government set up the Laminginquiry. Its remit is to take
"all necessary steps" to ensure "wherever
possible such failures cannot happen again".
But yesterday, after 11 weeks of testimony about the
breathtaking incompetence and sloppy practice that led
to Victoria's death, Lord Laming, the inquiry chairman,
ordered that criminal proceedings should begin against
one of the social workers in thecase after she refused
to attend and give evidence.
Time and time again, Haringey Council's social services
department has been charged with failing to co-operate.
It is accused of hampering the inquiry - set up to provide
a turning point for child protection in England and
Wales.
Brent Social Services has also been criticised for
not providing information in time.
Yesterday's decision by Lord Laming, believed to be
unprecedented, means the inquiry will prosecute team
manager, Carole Baptiste, of Haringey Social Services.
Having been tracked down by a private investigator,
she was summonsed but ignored it, the latest in a long
line of attempts to make her give evidence. Ms Baptiste
insists she is too ill to participate, something denied
by her own psychiatrist.
Lord Laming said yesterday that Miss Baptiste had "exhausted
his patience" . He instructed solicitors to take
the matter to a magistrates' court with a potential
penalty, if found guilty, of six months in jail.
Haringey, meanwhile, following the threat of a summons
against its head of social services, Anne Bristow, provided
263 documents in the 11th week of the inquiry - they
should have been supplied months ago.
The Laming team was appalled. Neil Garnham QC, counsel
to the inquiry, said he could not decide whether this
was "incompetence" or a deliberate attempt
to avoid responsibilities.
He would not, however, allow it to "derail"
the hearing and reserved the right to recall every one
of the Haringey witnesses to deal with matters arising
out of the new material.
He said of the late arrival of documents: "This
is not only unfair to the other interested parties,
and indeed unfair to the witnesses; it is detrimental
to the work of the inquiry.
Last week, the director of Haringey social services
was ordered to appear at the inquiry after the council
was accused of withholding vital documents.
Lord Laming described the authority's late production
of important documents and failure to pass on others
as "deeply disturbing". He said: "It
is just not good enough. In fact, more than that. It
is totally unacceptable ... I know the Governmentattaches
considerable importance to this inquiry being conducted
thoroughly and correctly. I and my colleagues are working
hard to achieve that."
This was only the latest in a string of scuffles between
the child protection service and the inquiry. In late
November, Lord Laming asked why he had not been made
aware of an internal Haringey report into the Climbie
case and demanded it be placedbefore the hearing.
The council's legal team responded by accusing him
of conducting a "paper chase" and losing sight
of the original aims of the inquiry.
In a letter sent a week earlier, Haringey had criticised
Lord Laming for focusing on the shortcomings of its
social workers, rather than the failings of health workers
connected with the case. Lord Laming said such an approach
was "totally out of order".
"I will not tolerate any covert attempt to influence
the way the inquiry is conducted," he said
Haringey has insisted it has worked "tirelessly"
to supply thousands of documents to the inquiry, dedicating
three senior members of staff to the job for six months.
Yesterday, a spokesman added: "We have accepted
our share of responsibility for thefailings in the child
protection system. We, too, want to get to the truth
so we can learn the important lessons and get on with
the ongoing business of improving our services."
But Haringey is not the only council to have been criticised.
Brent has also been accused of "dripfeeding"
information and producing documents late.
The matter appears all the more serious when bearing
in mind the damning evidence already been produced.
Victoria Climbie was starved, beaten with belt buckles,
bicycle chains, coat hangers and shoes. Razor blades
were taken to her fingers and a hammer to her toes.
She was burned with cigarettes, had boiling water poured
over her and was left in a bin bagin a bathtub.
At the age of eight, she died of hypothermia, severe
neglect and malnutrition. Her body had 128 injuries.
Following the Old Bailey case in January - at which
Victoria's great aunt Marie Therese Kouao, 45, and her
partner Carl Manning, 28, were jailed forlife for murder,
a large part of the blame fell on the "blinding
incompetence" of Haringey social worker Lisa Arthurworrey
- principally for failing to visit the home because
of fear of catching scabies
But the inquiry has heard evidence that would imply
that such incompetence and low morale was systematic,
and certainly not unique.
Indeed, child protection services missed at least 12
chances to save Victoria's life.
Haringey, Brent, Ealing and Enfield councils, along
with Central and North Middlesex hospitals and the Metropolitan
Police had all been alerted to Victoria's plight. Miss
Arthurworrey described an office manned mainly by temporary
staff with a workloadnearly twice what it should have
been.
The inquiry heard that in November 1999 one of her
superiors, Miss Baptiste, was made redundant, two months
before her own child was removed from her care.
Haringey has yet to explain to the inquiry why a woman
who could not look after her own child was employed
managing the welfare of others.
And in a further damning statement, Miss Arthurworrey
accused another manager, Angella Mairs, of ripping a
sheet out of Victoria's case file - which contained
a final note recommending "No further action"
- three days after the child died. It is a matterMs
Mairs, who faces an internal disciplinary hearing, is
expected to deny.
Lord Laming earlier ordered Brent Council to investigate
its services after one of its former managers described
frightening practices.
Edward Armstrong said unaccompanied children as young
as 13 were being place in bed and breakfast accommodation,
urgent case referrals were not being monitored and files
went missing. In September 1999, he said he was told
to close 190 files prematurelyto persuade an inspector
that the department was under control.
Both Brent and Haringey have been accused of diverting
central Government funds earmarked for children's services
to other areas and the inquiry has heard of a lack of
communication and failure to observe mandatory guidelines
among a number of healthcare professionals.
Police officers from both Brent and Haringey Child
Protection Units have claimed they were the Metropolitan
Police's "Cinderella service" , with only
a fraction of the resources devoted to crimes such as
drugs, murder and terrorism.
One of its officers, Detective Sergeant Richard Bird,
admitted that, despite his job title, he was not a trained
detective and had no experience of child protection.
The inquiry will conclude its preliminary hearings into
the Climbie case in January. A second phase, examining
the wider implications will then run into spring. Lord
Laming's final report should follow before the summer.
It promises to make grim reading indeed. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
|
|
| Flowers in Gods Garden |
|
| Paul Pearson |
|
| Rosie Palmer |
|
| Sophie Hook |
|
| Sarah Payne |
|
| Victoria Climbie |
|
| Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman |
- Documents
- Audio
|
| The Yorkshire Ripper |
- Video
|
|
