Caleb Ness was shaken to death by his father

Susan O'Brien QC addressed councillors in Edinburgh following publication of her report into the death of Caleb Ness, who was on the city council's child protection register.

An inquiry by Edinburgh and Lothians Child Protection Committee under the chairmanship of Ms O'Brien concluded that the parents should not have had care of the child.

Caleb's father Alexander Ness had a history of violence and his mother Shirley Malcolm was known to be a drug addict.

Ness, from Edinburgh, was jailed for 11 years after admitting a charge of culpable homicide. He had shaken the 11-week-old infant to death in October 2001.

Brain injury

The report into the death pointed to failings within care agencies and prompted a review of child care procedures.

The controversy which followed Caleb's death has resulted in the resignation of head of social work Les McEwan, the suspension of two social workers and the transfer of three staff from child protection duties.

The trial had heard that Ness had a brain injury and the psychologist who treated him knew he should not have been left alone with children and could become volatile if, for example, they cried.

For ethics reasons the psychologist felt this information could not be passed on to social workers who in turn were unclear about what they were entitled to ask doctors.

Susan O'Brien said the evidence was there

Ms O'Brien said that communication must be improved in care agencies across Scotland to ensure child protection.

Speaking on Thursday, the QC said: "The principal reason was a failure to gather up all the relevant information and we highlight in particular the failure to obtain information about Ness's brain injury."

The QC said the failure to obtain crucial information about Shirley Malcolm's competency as a mother should also have been taken into account.

"Had the detail been made available to the case conference we've no doubt that the different view would have been taken," she said.

Council leader Donald Anderson said the report indicated a clear case of failure on the part of agencies charged with looking after the baby.

The lust for blame fuelled by the press-led campaign for the director of social work's resignation shows no understanding of what needs to be addressed John Stevenson Unison official

At the meeting, city councillors approved a series of initiatives for modernising the child protection system in Edinburgh.

The public service union Unison warned against the "witch hunts and scapegoating" of social work staff following the death of the baby.

Branch secretary John Stevenson told councillors: "Social workers across Edinburgh have felt sadness, shock, despair, anger, and despondency in their heart-searching over the death of Caleb Ness.

"We all feel responsible and we want to work with the council in ensuring that procedures are effective and proper support is available in order to prevent the likelihood of this happening again.

"The lust for blame fuelled by the press-led campaign for the director of social work's resignation shows no understanding of what needs to be addressed."

Mr Stevenson said the resignation would "not be a positive step" for either social work or the city's children.

He said social workers lived with the risk of something "unpredictable and unavoidable".

"If this pressure, along with staff shortages, constant vilification, and relatively poor pay, also includes media witch-hunts, why would anyone want the job?" he asked.

Unison said social work staff had to be given the proper support, access to the appropriate training and adequate reward for their work.