Shoesmith ‘will take some time’ to decide whether to appeal

Sharon Shoesmith has yet to decide if she will appeal the decision in her application for a judicial review of her sacking, or continue with her application to the Employment Tribunal.

Justice Foskett, in his recent rejection of Shoesmith’s application for a judicial review, said he felt the best place to decide if Haringey had a case to answer in terms of her sacking as director of children’s services after the Baby P case, was the Employment Tribunal. However, he also allowed her extra time to decide if she wanted to appeal his decision.

A spokesperson for Beachcroft law firm, which represents Haringey’s former director of children’s services. said her decision was unlikely to be swift and as a result there may no court application until the Autumn.

“My inclination is that this could all take a long time,” the spokesperson said. “There could be a lot of back and forth and something might not happen until the autumn.”

Shoesmith was sacked from her post as DCS at Haringey following the Baby P case. In her application for a judicial review she claimed Ofsted, Ed Balls, as children’s secretary, and Haringey had been “unfair” in the way they had organised her dismissal.

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