Kate Robertson, now at Enfield Council, told delegates to PRWeek's conference how Haringey needed to rebuild its reputation: 'It needs to identify every opportunity to sell its "improvement journey", and find human stories to sell improvements.'
Reflecting on Haringey's handling of the aftermath of eight-year-old Climbié's death, Robertson said: 'We all fell into the blame game – there were so many agencies involved.'
But she added: 'Saying "sorry" did genuinely work – it deflected anger that was coming our way.'
Climbié's death in 2000 prompted the most extensive inquiry ever into the child protection system.
Lamenting a lack of PR staff, Robertson admitted: 'We underestimated the resources needed – we had just three press officers and me, and that was not enough.'
Reflecting on Haringey's handling of the aftermath of eight-year-old Climbié's death, Robertson said: 'We all fell into the blame game – there were so many agencies involved.'
But she added: 'Saying "sorry" did genuinely work – it deflected anger that was coming our way.'
Climbié's death in 2000 prompted the most extensive inquiry ever into the child protection system.
Lamenting a lack of PR staff, Robertson admitted: 'We underestimated the resources needed – we had just three press officers and me, and that was not enough.'
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