Baby P chief's day at Ascot was paid for by builder she backed for £28m contract

By Colin Fernandez for the Daily Mail
Updated: 01:37 EST, 11 December 2008


Sharon Shoesmith at Ascot weeks after Baby P died

The council boss fired over the death of Baby P was taken on a trip to Ascot races by a building firm she recommended for a £28million contract.

Just months after the toddler's death in August 2007, Sharon Shoesmith was pictured at the racecourse enjoying hospitality from the construction company Willmott Dixon.

And now documents show that her day out came after she supported the firm's bid to build a sixth-form centre in the borough.

This week the 55-year-old head of children's services at Haringey Council, North London, was sacked from her £100,000-a-year job with no compensation  -  although she will get to keep a pension package, worth about £1.5million, following furore over Baby P's death.

He died in a bloodstained cot after months of torture including a broken back.

But after his mother, her boyfriend and the couple's lodger were convicted of causing or allowing the child's death, Mrs Shoesmith outraged the public by insisting her department was not to blame for any failings.

She was fired after Children's Secretary Ed Balls launched an inquiry into the case  -  and uncovered significant failures by child protection workers in her department.

Earlier this year, Willmott Dixon was criticised after an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into claims of bid rigging in the building industry.

It is in line to share a further £200million of construction work in rebuilding and renovating schools in the borough, in part because of Mrs Shoesmith's recommendation.

Council documents show that she authorised a report in 2005, recommending the firm to build a sixth-form centre at White Hart Lane for 1,200 students, complete with science labs, a dance studio and a 200-seat theatre.

Former head of children's services at Haringey, Sharon Shoesmith, centre, goes shopping on Tuesday, after she was sacked

Mrs Shoesmith is believed to have attended the races after meeting senior managers from Willmott Dixon as a result of her involvement in the sixth-form project.

She has previously revealed that she made a £25 donation to charity for her day at the races as the firm's guest.

A Willmott Dixon spokesman said the trip to Ascot was an annual event for 600 guests. 'We invite them along, its convivial and that's it.'

'It's not about trying for business advantage. These sorts of contracts are very rigorously audited,' he added.

The company has spoken of its disappointment at being named in the OFT bid-rigging inquiry  -  which investigated 112 construction firms across the UK.

'The allegations against Willmott Dixon Construction concern six unsuccessful tenders with a combined value of under £30million,' the firm said in a statement.

'There is no suggestion that any benefit accrued to the company in relation to any of these unsuccessful tenders with a combined value of under £30million.

'Willmott Dixon has not and never would condone any unethical action or activity in contravention of competition law.'

A Haringey Council spokesman said that Mrs Shoesmith had formally declared her Ascot trip  -  although the hospitality register is not publicly available.

The spokesman added that the tendering process was 'clear, transparent and auditable and offer protection for the client and value for money for residents.

'In addition, all tendering parties are required to sign and commit to a certificate of non-collusion,' she said.