The limits of fairness in public law - the Sharon Shoesmith case

Sharon Shoesmith was Director of Children and Young People's Services (the DCS) for Haringey Borough Council during the short life of Peter Connelly (Baby P). In the wake of the conviction of Peter's mother and her boyfriend for causing or allowing his death, the conduct of Haringey social care services and Shoesmith was subject to intense scrutiny and there were public calls for her to be removed from her post. The Sun launched a petition for her dismissal without compensation, which attracted more than one million signatures.

DCS is a statutory position and on 1 December 2008, amid growing media frenzy, Shoesmith was removed from post by the Secretary of State. Her contract of employment was later terminated, without compensation, by Haringey.

Shoesmith brought judicial review proceedings in respect of the Secretary of State's decision to remove her, the Ofsted report into social care at Haringey which informed that decision, and Haringey's termination of her employment contract.

The judgment handed down by Mr Justice Foskett on 23 April contains important legal analysis of the concept of "fairness" and provides a timely reminder to an increasingly rights driven society that the law must balance the rights of individuals and the wider community.

The full text of the judgment can be found here.

Wragge & Co's Public Law & Regulation team examines the key elements of the judgment in an expert analysis.