Children's care inspectorate Ofsted has denied a link between the recently-announced departure of the organisation's national director, Debbie Jones, and a damning report into ‘serious failures' at her previous employer, Lambeth LBC.

The rebuttal follows publication of an Ofsted report on 12 May which noted ‘widespread or serious failures in the delivery of services for looked-after children' and found Lambeth's leaders and managers had not displayed ‘sufficient understanding of failures' and were unable to prioritise, challenge or improve services.