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The lawyer representing former Haringey social worker Carole Baptiste, who was fined for failing to attend the Victoria Climbie inquiry, has attacked the decision to convict her and warned that she may appeal, writes Sally Gillen.

Peter Herbert said the guilty verdict had been reached because Baptiste had "become a repository for all the frustrations felt by the inquiry".

He added that failures by Haringey council and the NSPCC to provide documentation to the inquiry had caused problems, but no individual from those organisations had faced the same action as Baptiste.

"Haringey collectively 'disappeared' quite a few documents, and the NSPCC altered records on the Climbie family. These are major institutions. But it is an individual that has been hauled over the coals," said Herbert.

He said that Baptiste, who was fined £500 at Camberwell Green magistrates court after judge Hayden Gott decided that she had recovered from her mental illness sufficiently to appear at the inquiry, had "definite grounds for appeal", and was also considering her career options.

"At the moment there is still a lot she has to contribute in terms of the voluntary sector. But it is highly likely that if you convict someone in this way you are ruining their chances of coming back. She is considering all the possibilities, but all this makes it harder," he said.