Shamed Sharon Shoesmith shows her support at High Court hearing for two social workers fired after brutal death of Baby P
- Maria Ward was Peter Connolly's social worker and Gillie Christou her boss
- They were sacked in 2007 after his death in Haringey, north London
- The pair argue they were unfairly sacked because of public outcry
- Peter died with 50 injuries despite having 60 visits from social workers
- Former social services chief Sharon Shoesmith arrives at court in support of colleagues
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Two social workers sacked for failing to care for toddler Peter Connolly - known as Baby P - have taken their cases to the High Court today.
Three judges sitting the Court of Appeal in London heard challenges brought by Gillie Christou and Maria Ward, who say they were unjustly fired by Haringey Council after the little boy died of neglect.
The former chief of the social services department, Sharon Shoesmith, also arrived at court to support the two women and took a seat in the public gallery.
Hearing: (l-r) Gillie Christou and Maria Ward (pictured at a previous hearing), were two of Baby P's social workers, and say they were unjustly fired
Tragic: Baby P was a 17-month old boy who died in London after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period
The targic death of Peter Connolly almost six years ago shocked Britain and led to huge reforms to children's services.
He was 17 months old when he was found dead in a blood-spattered cot in Tottenham, north London, on August 3, 2007.
Support: Former children's services boss at Haringey, Sharon Shoesmith, was in the public gallery today watching the proceedings
He had suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police and health professionals over eight months.
Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the little boy's death.
The two social workers in the High Court still claim they were unfairly sacked by Haringey Council in north London in response to a public outcry about the little boy's horrific death.
Ms Ward was Peter Connelly's nominated social worker at the council from February 2007 until his death, and Mrs Christou was her team manager.
Their boss Sharon Shoesmith was also sacked from her highly-paid job in 2008 amid mounting public uproar over the death of baby Peter in August 2007 at the hands of his mother Tracey Connelly, 31, her sadistic paedophile boyfriend Steve Barker, 36, and his brother Jason Owen, 40.
The senior social worker launched an appeal claiming unfair dismissal and eventually won. Despite reports she was due £1million in compensation, she says she has not yet received the payment, and that she faces huge legal bills.
In an interview last month she revealed that she is on the dole and unemployable.
Jailed: Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly (left), her lover Steven Barker (centre) and Jason Owen (right) were jailed in May 2009 for causing or allowing the little boy's death
A Watford employment tribunal concluded in 2010 that the local authority acted reasonably in dismissing them because of serious failings in their care of the toddler.
The women then challenged that ruling at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in central London, but their appeals were dismissed in May last year.
The EAT ruled that the employment tribunal did not 'err in law or come to perverse conclusions' in rejecting their claims for unfair dismissal.
Ms Ward and Mrs Christou were sacked after an investigation which discovered there was a period in mid-2007 when they did not know where the child was.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280967/Two-social-workers-sacked-brutal-death-Baby-P-appeals-High-Court.html#ixzz2LMXTCCpN
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