Addressing the education select committee, Shoesmith, who was sacked from her position in Haringey in December 2008, said the reaction had led to a climate of fear within the social care sector.
"To construct a narrative so simple, which told the public that Peter Connolly died because Haringey was uniquely weak, to sack everyone from the directors to the social workers and all would be well, was quite frankly absurd," she said. "The whole sector is now, in my view, motivated by a fear of failure and not the conditions for success."
Questioned on why she described former Children’s Secretary Ed Balls as "reckless" in the aftermath of the Baby Peter case, Shoesmith said: "I watched the broadcast on 1 December, waiting to hear when I would get a copy of the report to read. I was shocked and horrified that anyone did not realise the impact that [Balls’ statement] was going to have across the whole social care sector. It was obvious to me that the whole sector would virtually collapse and that is what has happened."
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