Haringey whistle-blower loses claim

Nevres Kemal, 45, brought the claim after her application for a job as a social worker with the north London council was refused last year.

She said she felt victimised for blowing the whistle, but an employment tribunal rejected her case, saying her claims of “public interest disclosure detriment” were “not well-founded”, the tribunals service said.

No further reasons were given in the judgment, which was handed down following hearings behind closed doors in June and July.

Ms Kemal alerted the government about the poor quality of Haringey social services in February 2007, six months before 17-month-old Peter Connelly’s death in August. She later made a claim against the council after being sacked, but on that occasion a settlement was reached without any admission of liability.

Ms Kemal brought the second claim after being refused an interview for a social worker’s post with the council last year.

Yesterday, a Haringey Council spokeswoman welcomed the tribunal’s decision to dismiss Ms Kemal’s claim.