Councils must work to keep the public's trust following the case of Baby P and the Icelandic banking fiasco. Head of communications for Richmond upon Thames LBC, and executive member at LGCommunications, Cormac Smith, used the case of Baby P to remind council PR managers to prioritise the preservation of the public's trust in a crisis situation. In times of public outcry, the approach of council's heads of communications should never be about ‘vanity and the council saving face', he warned. He added: ‘It is important to be very clear that in times of a crisis such as the Baby P tragedy, it is about protecting the public's trust and confidence in the organisation which are so crucial to enabling any council to work effectively for local people.' He reminded communication managers that their role was about ‘more than writing press releases'. ‘Heads of communication have a crucial role as a strategic adviser to senior officers and leading members which also needs to be fulfilled. ‘If something bad happens, they need to be among the first people in the loop and in a position to advise on the way forward. ‘In too many cases, it would appear that this does not happen as is should,' he said.