Ed Balls, Child Protection and the Betrayal of Public Servants

Ed Balls, Child Protection and the Betrayal of Public Servants

Yesterdays judgement confirmed what many of us had long suspected. That the Reaganesque sacking of Sharon Shoesmith – live on TV, and before she’d enjoyed the chance to defend herself – constituted a “public sacrifice”. The manner of her departure, at least, was driven not by the urgent interests of child protection, but by the desire for public spectacle.