Lynne Featherstone MP has today renewed her call for an independent investigation into Haringey Children’s Services, following news that Haringey Council has again failed to protect vulnerable children.

Haringey Council have previously been embroiled in scandals over their failure to protect both Victoria Climbe and Baby P.

After both cases, the Council’s Labour leadership gave assurances that lessons had been learned. However, the report into the more recent case of Child T evidenced serious failures of management and professional practice within social care services, similar to those in the Baby P case.

In a letter to Haringey Council’s Chief Executive, the Liberal Democrat MP slammed the ‘culture of defensiveness’ at Haringey Council, which she believes causes an ‘inability to properly accept responsibility for errors and to learn from them.’

The letter – co signed by Haringey Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Cllr Katherine Reece – also said that an independent investigation, including a review of the role of the safeguarding children board, was the ‘only way to secure an honest assessment of the Department and the changes that need to be made.’

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“It is just appalling that Haringey Council have become embroiled in another child abuse scandal. The local Lib Dems, local residents and I have long been calling on the Labour leadership to address the manifest failings of Children’s Services – but our calls have simply been ignored.

“What makes me even more upset and angry, is that Haringey’s Labour leadership have repeatedly told us that lessons had been learnt, and that Children’s Services had turned a corner. But this was evidently not true – and now another child has paid the price.

“Cllr Katherine Reece and I have renewed our call for an urgent, independent investigation. It cannot come quickly enough.”