THE Fife Council social worker involved in the case of murdered toddler Liam Fee has been struck off.

Lesley Bate, 60, was found guilty of misconduct by the professional care watchdog, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), and was removed from the social work register.

A SSSC subcommittee found her guilty of 12 charges of misconduct relating to 15 children, including two-year-old Liam, who was murdered by his mother Rachel Fee and her civil partner, Nyomi Fee.

As well as barring Mrs Bate from social care work, the SSSC said "systemic failures" at Fife Council were partly to blame for the "pattern of misconduct that developed".

The committee also hit out at other social workers, including Mrs Bate's boss in the council's child protection team, Karen Pedder, branding them "defensive" and "evasive" when they gave evidence.

They were said to be "less reliable than might reasonably have been expected" during the hearing.

Dunfermline SNP councillor Neale Hanvey, the opposition spokesman on social work, said: "Prior to this hearing I was given clear reassurances about the robustness of child protection arrangements.

"So I was astounded to hear about dysfunctional teams, riven with personality clashes in a toxic atmosphere and nothing being done about it.

"The significant case review will look into the tragic circumstances around the death of Liam Fee, but people in Fife want to know what has been done about the serious issues raised in evidence at these hearings."

In a judgement given on the seventh day of the hearing, sub-committee convenor Catherine Duthie said Mrs Bate had left Liam Fee – referred to only as FF in SSSC documents – at "actual or potential risk of harm".

A statement from Fife Council said: "We welcome the findings of the tribunal.

"While we cannot discuss the details of current or former employees, we would reassure that the practice highlighted in this case is historic in nature and was dealt with robustly at the time.

"The case was first reported by the council, to the SSSC, over three years ago and this week's hearing is the conclusion of that referral.

"This case does not reflect our current practice or the high standard of professionalism which we expect and receive from our social work staff."

The statement continued: "Fife Council's Children's Services were subject to a joint inspection earlier this year by the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMI of Constabulary for Scotland, who evaluated services in Fife very positively.

"It remains extremely important that we continuously scrutinise the work that we do.

"Significant case reviews, such as that under way into the death of Liam Fee, contribute to this scrutiny and we look forward to promoting any learning from this review as widely as possible, to help improve practice across agencies."

Rachel and Nyomi Fee were both sentenced in July to life in prison and given minimum terms of 23-and-a-half-years and 24 years respectively, after Liam Fee died at an address in Donald Crescent, Thornton, on March 22, 2014.