Victoria’s parents urge senior managers to be named

The parents of Victoria Climbie have urged the government to
punish the senior managers and councillors who were responsible for
Haringey social services at the time of their daughter’s
death, writes Clare Jerrom.

Welcoming the Care Standard’s Tribunal decision to remove
Lisa Arthurworrey from the protection of Children Act List, Berthe
and Francis Climbie said it was time that senior managers were held
accountable for “the chaos that passed for social care in
Haringey” when Victoria was abused and killed.

“The [Victoria Climbie] Foundation has always held that
Lisa Arthurworrey was simply a convenient scapegoat for the senior
people to hide their feelings behind,” a statement from
Victoria’s parents said.

It adds that no action was taken against the chair of the social
services department or the director of social services who went on
to be director at Hackney social services where there has recently
been a recent high profile child abuse case “among the
African communities that social services department failed to
properly deal with”.

It emerged this week that Hackney Council have launched an
independent review into agencies’ handling of the case where a girl
was tortured by her carers who believed she was a witch. The
child’s aunt, who cannot be named and another relative Sita Kisanga
were found guilty of child cruelty charges at the Old Bailey last
week. Sebastian Pinto was convicted of aiding and abetting child
cruelty.

The Climbies’ statement highlights how Lord Laming had pointed
out that senior managers had overseen Haringey social services and
then moved on to better-paid jobs before the inquiry could examine
their failings.

The Foundation urged the government to name the senior managers
and bring them to account for the failings in the care system at
Haringey.

“Only by this can the public have confidence that those
really to blame for the failure to protect children have been made
to take responsibility for their wrongdoing,” the statement
concluded.