Social worker `felt scapegoated` inquiry told

Lisa Arthurworrey’s lawyer has accused Haringey council of
making her a scapegoat for failings in the handling of Victoria
Climbie’s case, writes Sally
Gillen.

Reading a statement on behalf of Arthurworrey, Jane Hoyal
criticised Haringey for offering her team manager Carole Baptiste a
redundancy package after she was found to be professionally unfit
for her job in 2000.

She told the inquiry that Arthurworrey “felt scapegoated and you
may think with justifiable cause” because she was the only employee
suspended in October 2000.

Hoyal said: “If Lisa had had a competent manager and stable
management system Victoria might not have died. Senior management
were fully aware that files were not read in supervision and did
nothing about it.”

“Her career and life have been shattered,” Hoyal added.

The council’s failure to disclose key documents on time,
which included a report on Baptiste, was also criticised by
Hoyal.

If they been submitted before she had given her evidence, “Lisa
would have been able to deal with them in her evidence and in the
questions submitted to other witnesses on her behalf,” said
Hoyal.

Elizabeth Lawson, representing Haringey, admitted that some of
the documents should have been produced earlier in the proceedings,
but said “large numbers of them are of minimal if any relevance to
Miss Arthurworrey’s case”.