Key women in the affair face praise and condemnation

At the heart of the ongoing controversy over Haringey's failure to prevent the death of Baby P are two women: one, the whistleblower, is lauded, while the other is accused of repeated failure.

Nevres Kemal, a former social worker who revealed to The Independent last week that her pleas for an investigation into Haringey's failing social services department were ignored, has been praised for her actions.

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Meanwhile Haringey's director of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, has been severely criticised for refusing to resign. But the director's supporters insist that she is being unfairly targeted.

Over the weekend, Ms Kemal, 44, revealed further claims as to how she was victimised by the council, which she said falsely accused her of child abuse of one teenager and started a child protection investigation into the welfare of her own nine-year-old daughter.

Describing the allegations as "monstrous", she insisted they were made in response to the fact she raised concerns about the failing social services department. During a four-year "witch-hunt", she lost her job, faced a police investigation and saw the matter take its toll on her own family, she told the Mail on Sunday.

At an employment tribunal in 2007 she claimed she had been singled out because she was a whistleblower. It was during the tribunal, as The Independent revealed, that she claimed the council's inaction had exposed children in the same family to the risk of sexual abuse by a relative. Four years after Lord Laming published his report into the death of Victoria Climbié, Ms Kemal claimed that procedural recommendations set out in that report were not being followed. The council eventually settled the case out of court, later saying in a statement that Ms Kemal had been dismissed in March 2007 after a breakdown of trust and confidence "based on a substantial number of employment-related disputes" – the tribunal was settled with no admission of liability by the council. The directors have since acknowledged in writing that she never abused any child.

Ms Shoesmith continues to be portrayed as one of the villains after she resolutely defended the social care team in question and refused to apologise for the council's role in the toddler's death. Yesterday calls for the director of children's services to resign mounted as she was lambasted for attending a free corporate day out at Ascot races just weeks after Baby P died.

But over the weekend more than 60 headteachers from the area voiced their support for Ms Shoesmith, who they praised for "working relentlessly" to ensure the best services for "all young people".

In a joint letter, they insisted she was an "outstanding public servant" who should not be forced to quit.