Social worker in doubt over stolen file allegation

Haringey social worker Lisa Arthurworrey told the Victoria
Climbie Inquiry she had not known who to report her manager Angella
Mairs to when she witnessed her removing a page from Victoria
Climbie’s file after the girl’s death,
writes Lauren Revans.

Arthurworrey told inquiry chairperson Lord Herbert Laming that
she had never met either the assistant director of social services
Carol Wilson or the director of social services Mary Richardson
– despite having been with Haringey social services
department for 16 months at that stage – so did not think of
“dropping them a note” explaining what had happened with the case
file.

Neither had she any idea how the local unison branch operated,
despite being a member, she told Laming.

Arthurworrey told the hearing last week that Mairs removed the
final contact sheet – which had Mairs’ signature on it and
indicated there should be “no further action” – on 28
February 2000, following Victoria’s death and a request from
Wilson for a copy of the file.

“I did not know who to protest to,” Arthurworrey explained. “As
I have said, Angella Mairs was the headmistress. I was the child
who was seen but not heard. And I had seen what happened to
children who challenged Angella Mairs.”

Arthurworrey went on to tell the inquiry that, in the six months
she had been responsible for Victoria’s file, her case had
probably had “about 30 minutes worth of consultation time with the
people who were supposed to be advising and assisting me”. “That is
abysmal,” she concluded.

She admitted that she herself had only seen Victoria on four
occasions during those six months, and that she saw Victoria alone
for no more than 30 minutes in total.

“It is appalling,” she admitted, looking back at the case
statistics.