Baby P social worker wins case against The Sun
Joe Lepper
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Former Haringey social worker Sylvia Henry has won undisclosed damages from The Sun newspaper over its reporting of her role in the Baby Peter case.
In addition to paying damages, the newspaper has promised to publish an apology to Henry after it wrongly claimed that she had been "grossly negligent" in the case.
At a hearing in the High Court the paper also accepted that there was no justification for the allegations.
The payout has been welcomed by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), which said the reporting was indicative of a "media-led blame culture" surrounding the case.
Nushra Mansuri, BASW professional officer, said: "A horrific tragedy such as the Baby Peter case affects everyone, not just those directly involved and it helps absolutely no one for newspapers to print unjustified allegations about individual social workers working in extremely challenging situations.
"It is vitally important that we learn from child abuse cases so that we can prevent them from happening again and the press has a key role to play in explaining complex issues to the public and ensuring there is accountability."
