Sir Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, said he wanted to offer support to Shoesmith over the "personal criticism" she was suffering. However, "as details of the case unfolded" he said he later advised her to resign as head of children's services at Haringey Council.
He was slammed in today's Sun by columnist Kelvin MacKenzie, who wrote: "What kind of idiot would write such an email? The answer is an overpaid, time-serving fool for a charity that should be scrapped tomorrow."
In a statement, Ennals said: "The email I sent to Sharon Shoesmith in November 2008 following the press conference at which the story first became public was intended to provide support in response to what I felt was personal criticism of both her and the social workers involved.
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