If it was only The Sun carrying the story, it would still be remarkable, even if some might not approve of that messenger. However much as some might like to characterise and dismiss this as a sensationalist Sun story, it's not only The Sun that carries it:
I think it's important to remember that this isn't just a headline: there's a real child involved, even though some might disregard this aspect, possibly because the child was described as Muslim.
Anything that doesn't recognize the involvement of a vulnerable child, risks the appearance of being callous, on a par with the council's own carelessness.
Haringey fostered the child after carrying out routine checks. As soon as it transpired that a relation of the fostering couple, living in the same house, was suspected of being a terrorist the child was removed.
" In a statement the council said that checks were made and at that stage no-one had known of any terrorist activity in the extended family network.
As soon as the council was informed by the police the child was removed and the family is no longer allowed to foster. "
It sounds as if Haringey acted speedily and correctly once the family member's involvement became known.
THAT Haringey quickly pulled the foster child out when they realized they had unwittingly placed the child in the household of a terrorist, is not in dispute.
Focusing on the post hoc actions misses the point made or alluded to in all the press articles: what was the adequacy of the "routine checks" that allowed Haringey social services to place a helpless child in a household like this one, in the first place?
There are questions raised about the care, checking and monitoring involved and these questions parallel those raised over Baby Peter Connelly. It doesn't help vulnerable children in future to pretend that these issues don't exist: we should forget about the welfare of the council and concentrate solely on the welfare of the child, full-stop. That should be the first and last concern. These questions are hardly a witch-hunt, let alone a witch-hunt too far.
This case also raises wider questions, that shouldn't escape anybody, about the ostensible reason for placing the child in this household and that is, the need or otherwise to place a young child, supposedly of a particular religion, in the household of the same religion.