The High Court ruling in the unfair dismissal case brought by Haringey LBC's former head of social services has been delayed after Ofsted failed to hand over key document. The regulator admitted committing a serious and ‘deeply regrettable' mistake by not disclosing an inspection report in Sharon Shoesmith's case. The 70-page hand written report detailed an inspection following the death of ‘Baby Peter'. Ms Shoesmith is challenging her dismissal as head of children's services at Haringey LBC on the orders of education secretary Ed Balls. High Court judge Mr Justice Foskett has given the inspectorate 14 days in which to disclose any other relevant material. He has also demanded that after that time a senior member of staff send him a signed letter confirming thorough checks have been made and no more pertinent documents remain undisclosed. ‘We very much regret this has happened. We have apologised unreservedly to the court and other parties,' said an Ofsted spokesman. ‘Unfortunately mistakes sometimes happen and whilst this is a serious one and deeply regrettable, we have nothing to hide. ‘The documents we have disclosed include an inspector's notebook, various emails and drafts of the emerging report of the Haringey inspection in November 2008. We believe they underline the professionalism of the inspectors and the thoroughness of the process of gathering and considering evidence during the inspection. ‘We do not believe that the documentation we have disclosed today has any material bearing on the central issues in the case.' Mr Justice Foskett had hoped to hand down his judgement this Friday but this has now been postponed.
