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Baby P chief's day at Ascot was paid for by builder she backed for £28m contract
Tim Ross, Education Correspondent10.12.08
THE sacked council chief at the centre of the Baby P scandal accepted hospitality from a construction firm she had earlier recommended for a £28 million contract.
Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey's former children's services director, enjoyed a day at Ascot races as a guest of Willmott Dixon only weeks after abuse victim Baby P died.
The firm won the contract to build Haringey's sixth-form centre on Ms Shoesmith's recommendation.
Willmott Dixon is also potentially in line for a further share of the £200 million being spent on rebuilding the borough's schools, thanks to Ms Shoesmith.
Earlier this year, the company was criticised by the Office of Fair Trading following an investigation into alleged bid rigging by construction firms.
The details emerged after Ms Shoesmith was sacked with no pay-off in the wake of the Baby P scandal.
The 17-month-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found dead in his cot last year. He had suffered months of abuse — including a broken back — at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger.
An inquiry by government inspectors identified a series of failings by child protection agencies in Haringey Ms Shoesmith was removed from her post by Children's Secretary Ed Balls and eventually sacked.
After the Baby P abuse trial concluded, she refused to apologise and insisted social workers had done everything necessary to protect the child.
Ms Shoesmith was widely condemned for visiting Ascot races with her daughter in October last year, two months after Baby P died, as a guest of Willmott Dixon.
Documents seen by the Standard show Ms Shoesmith authorised a report to councillors in October 2005 recommending the firm for the contract to build the sixth-form centre.
The White Hart Lane centre was built with funding from Gordon Brown's £45 billion Building Schools for the Future programme.
It includes specialist science laboratories, dance and drama studios, a 200-seat theatre and sports facilities. A spokesman for Willmott Dixon said the hospitality trip to Ascot was an annual company event attended by about 600 guests.
“We invite them along, it's convivial and that's it,” he said. “It is not about trying for business advantage. These sorts of contracts are very rigorously audited.”
Ms Shoesmith was thought to have attended at the invitation of Willmott Dixon managers she met through the sixth-form centre project. She did not attend in previous years.
The Willmott Dixon spokesman said the firm was not involved in other Haringey school construction projects. But Ms Shoesmith recommended that it was placed on a shortlist of prospective contractors for future school buildings projects.
Last April the company said it was “disappointed” to have been mentioned in the OFT investigation into suspected bid rigging by more than 100 construction firms.
“The allegations against Willmott Dixon Construction concern six unsuccessful tenders with a combined value of under £30 million. There is no suggestion that any benefit accrued to the company in relation to any of these unsuccessful tenders. Willmott Dixon has not and never would condone any unethical action or activity in contravention of competition law.”
A spokesman for Haringey council said Ms Shoesmith formally declared her trip to Ascot but the register of hospitality is not publicly available.
