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Shoesmith granted leave to appeal against Haringey and Secretary of State

Sharon Shoesmith has today (01/09/10) been given permission to appeal in her judicial review action against the London Borough of Haringey and the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.

Mr Justice Foskett, who in April this year rejected the claims brought by the former director of children's services at Haringey, said the legal relationship between the Secretary of State (who has the statutory power to intervene in a local authority's affairs) and the local authority as the employer of someone who can be removed from their employment was "an extremely difficult area". He accepted that the Court of Appeal could reach a different conclusion to the views he reached in the case. Read more...

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