Ok... I'm confused.  I know about the losing.  Is this ...winning?  It kinda feels like it, albeit without any fanfare or admission of anything...

Hmm, I don't like it. English is not my first language but it seems to me he's signalling that you have no leverage over him (any more).

Now you were refreshing his memory of your history, and making threats combined with peace offerings, but he just ignored it all.

I guess his fear of you was initially high, especially when your story was fresh to him, and he couldn't fathom what may come out of it, but meanwhile he obviously sought counsel and got assured that he's got his arse covered - either because he believes he can deflect your accusations, or because he personally wont take the full blow upon himself.

Now would be a good time to seek counsel of a solicitor yourself. You need to find out if he's bluffing (or if he believe you are bluffing, or overestimating your hand), and assess what you do have in your hand. Next, your communication with Igor, your demands and offers, should go through your solicitor, if you want Igor to be more responsive to your wants and needs.

Indeed.

He knows I now need significant capital to litigate, and thats my next step. I have to admit, I came to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately the guys a bit of a puppet, he has no authority and his purpose was to stall me so I couldnt get my teeth into his boss again.

Now he's useless to me, I've gone round the whole department and shut them out, so really the battle now is for compensation. I've got what I wanted out of them, I'm now just down a few grand and would like an apology I'm not going to get.

They never apologize, because apologizing is confession, and that is automatic loss in court of law if you decide to use it afterwards. I believe you would need solicitor even to negotiate a mutually binding agreement about apology in exchange for abstaining from further demands for compensation, and your whole capital seems to be damages they owe you, so your attorney would work for that (or part of that) and letting them off the hook without shaking them for some money wouldn't be an option.

Well, there is another option.

I only need a lawyer for his ability to negotiate the document chain required to bring an individual to court, there isnt actually a legal requirement for him to be a lawyer.

Last year a man hit the papers for spending 3 years learning enough law to successfully bring a complaint in front of our legal system, and he managed it online without spending a fortune on expensive courses or other sophistry.

I'm unfortunately amateur at everything I do, I have had no training other than basic education and I'm completely self-taught. I can get a job, earn the money I suppose, or learn the Code myself. Question is, do I really want to become one of them one way or another so I can exact justice? For what its worth, chasing a b*d into his hole and walking off with as much of his sh*t as I can carry isnt justice.

There should be rending, and pounding, lots of snarling, and fistfuls of fur. Basic language that all primates understand about subordination. XD

But I am considering it.

It seems to me that Igor is always on Leave....

AKA how to disrupt important negotiations. Basically he's said that nobody will sign off on this until the 25th, Bea stays in care.

I can jump the gun and just march in there and take her home - but the carers would be unpaid or I'd have to do it myself (illegally).

Its just paperwork. And the guy wont do it because he's signing his death warrant. Without oversight he has zero control over my financial situation, and thats the only reason social services arent in front of a high court judge right now.

They better pray I dont win the lotto tomorrow. ;-)