Afternoon:
8°c
Baby P chief at Ascot
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter13 Nov 2008
This is Sharon Shoesmith, the beleaguered head of children's services at Haringey council, enjoying herself at Ascot racecourse in the weeks after the death of Baby P.
Mrs Shoesmith, 55, is under mounting pressure over her team of social workers' failure to prevent the toddler's death.
Tory leader David Cameron has demanded sackings, but she has so far refused to apologise and has said she has no intention of resigning.
The 17-month-old boy was found dead in his bloodied cot after suffering months of abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger.
The baby, who suffered more than 50 injuries including a broken back, had been on Haringey's child protection register for eight months and had been visited on 60 occasions by health and social workers.
Mrs Shoesmith was photographed at the racecourse last year, a few weeks after Baby P was killed in August.
In the weeks before the Old Bailey trial, which ended on Tuesday, Mrs Shoesmith enjoyed a holiday with her own children in New York and Los Angeles.
Mrs Shoesmith, who earns £100,000 a year, has blamed Baby P's death entirely on the three people convicted.
