Institutional arrogance must be rooted out

Jenny McCartney’s column on the appalling arrogance of Haringey Council is essential reading this morning. Her conclusion is absolutely spot on:

“Various commentators have said that there is little point in demonising Haringey council and the employees concerned. Well, no one is calling them demons, but there is surely every point in conducting a relentless, forensic examination of their decisions and holding those individuals accountable. That applies equally to Dr Sabah al-Zayyat, the paediatrician who only partly examined the boy and failed to spot that he had nine broken ribs and a broken spine. Two days later he died in agony. The case of “Baby P”, a child long known only by an initial, is impossible to read without weeping, but our weeping now will do little good. There must instead be a determination that institutional arrogance, individual incompetence and unquestioning clinging to hollow “procedure” will never again cloud basic common sense and humanity.