The curse of scapegoating!

When Baby Peter Connelly died that appalling death, a few years ago, while under the supervision and care of Haringey Council, the country was in uproar and wanted to see those responsible for such neglect punished. In our rage at the manner by which his innocent life ended – everybody wanted to see someone pay – wanted to avenge him and his inhuman death.

Enter Ed Balls the avenger, who was right to sack the person directly responsible for that tragic injustice specially as she refused to step down gracefully. In every job and profession the buck has to stop somewhere and in this case it stopped with Sharon Shoesmith. And although he was right to act swiftly and immediately, he was also wrong as the appeals courts proved today.

In this country, a person is innocent until proven guilty. Even those accused of the cruellest of crimes have a voice and the right to be heard first before passing judgment on them. It’s what makes us who we are – fair and just.

Add to that, in his haste to pass punishment, appear diligent and in touch with the public mood, Mr Balls might have removed the head but left the body gangrenous – because once Shoesmith was removed and made an example, there was no need to seek others who might have been equally or more directly responsible.

Now the blame lies squarely with him – he made her an example and because of it she is now a victim. His well intentioned quickness, like most things Labour had a short lived gratification with a possible long lasting £1,000,000 payout to a woman who should have been punished for failing her duty of care but now is a seeking compensation for wrongful dismissal!