Hampshire child welfare supremo takes on top job at Baby P council

8:25am Tuesday 2nd December 2008

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A HAMPSHIRE council chief has been put in charge of children’s services at the London borough where a 17-month-old boy was killed after months of abuse.

John Coughlan, 48, replaces Haringey's former director of children's services Sharon Shoesmith who today begins her suspension after a damning report into failings exposed by the Baby P tragedy.

She was removed from her post by the Government over ''devastating'' findings about her department but remains on full pay.

Mr Coughlan, pictured, was parachuted into the council by Secretary of State for Children Ed Balls to work with Ms Shoesmith to make sure procedures were in place to ensure the safety of children while an emergency review was carried out.

Mr Balls has now used his powers to remove Ms Shoesmith and replace her with Mr Coughlan until December 31, when a permanent appointment will be made.

Mr Coughlan is regarded as one of the nation’s top children’s services directors and has worked for Hampshire County Council for three years.

He will be tasked with implementing the recommendations of inspectors who were sent into Haringey after the trial of those responsible for 17-month-old Baby P's brutal death.

They identified a string of ''serious concerns'' about the area's child protection services, which they described as ''inadequate''.

In a 16-page report, which was handed to ministers yesterday, they condemned everything from poor record-keeping to a failure to identify children at immediate risk of harm.

Haringey Council's leader, George Meehan, and cabinet member for children and young people, Liz Santry, resigned.

Two other senior council officers were suspended and three Haringey social workers have been taken off child protection duties pending further investigation.

Baby P, who cannot be named for legal reasons, died in a blood-splattered cot in August last year.

He had suffered more than 50 injuries at the hands of his abusive mother, 27, her boyfriend, 32, and their lodger, Jason Owen, 36, despite 60 contacts with the authorities over eight months The mother and the two men have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on December 15.

Mr Balls ruled out a public inquiry into the Baby P case ''for now'', saying the immediate priority was making management changes to safeguard vulnerable children in Haringey.