Government takes Shoesmith appeal bid to Supreme Court
Janaki Mahadevan
Friday, June 24, 2011
The government is seeking permission from the Supreme Court to appeal against a ruling that found Sharon Shoesmith was unlawfully sacked.
An application to appeal the ruling, which found in favour of Haringey’s former director of children’s services, was turned down by the Court of Appeal last month so the government has now taken its request to the Supreme Court.
In May, Court of Appeal judges upheld Shoesmith's challenge against a previous High Court ruling that former children's secretary Ed Balls and Haringey Council acted lawfully.
A Department for Education spokesman said: "The government thinks that it was right in principle for Sharon Shoesmith to be removed from her post as director of children’s services.
"The High Court thought that the decision was taken in a fair way. The Court of Appeal said that they thought it was not sufficiently fair, and was therefore unlawful."
