Death of Baby P
50 injuries, 60 visits - failures that led to the death of Baby P
Ministers last night ordered an urgent nationwide review of child protection procedures in the wake of the death of a 17-month-old boy at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and another man.
The three were convicted at the Old Bailey in a case that has many echoes of the terrible death of Victoria Climbié, whose murder eight years ago, in the same north London borough, Haringey, led to widespread changes in child protection.
The woman, 27, and her boyfriend, 32, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and another man, Jason Owen, 36, were convicted of causing or allowing the death of Baby P, whose identity is also protected by a court order. All three were cleared of murder.
The trial heard that the boy, who was on the child protection register, suffered more than 50 injuries during an eight-month period in which he was seen 60 times by social and health workers, but according to lawyers still did not pass the threshold to be taken into care.
Lord Laming, the child protection expert who led the inquiry into the Climbié case, spoke last night of his distress that another child known to welfare and health services should suffer such a violent death in the same borough. "What I had hoped was that Haringey would develop services that would make it an examplar of good practice," Lord Laming told the Guardian. "Although our recommendations were not directed only at Haringey, I had hoped that they would be a sufficient stimulus for Haringey to say 'never again'."
The children's minister, Beverley Hughes, has now asked Lord Laming to prepare an independent report on how his recommendations are being addressed nationally. She added: "This is a very tragic case that makes all of us question how someone could do such a terrible thing to a child and set out to deceive the very people trying to help."
The paediatric pathologist who examined Baby P after his death said that he never seen such damage done to a child. The court heard that a tooth must have been swallowed after a violent blow to the head, fingernails were missing, eight ribs had been fractured and chocolate was smeared over him to cover his bruises when social workers visited.
Two days before the boy died, in August last year, a paediatrician, Dr Sabah al-Zayatt, allegedly failed to spot that he had a broken back. A full examination was not carried out because the child seemed "cranky", the doctor noted.
Her contract has not been renewed by Great Ormond Street hospital, said the hospital's chief executive, Dr Jane Collins, who added that al-Zayatt was appealing against the decision. "Clearly we didn't get things right - a child died," said Dr Collins.
"More should have been done when the child was seen by a paediatrician two days before he died."
Two social workers and a lawyer have been given written warnings but there have been no sackings or resignations over the case, said Sharon Shoesmith, chair of the Haringey local safeguarding children board. "I can only begin to tell you the shock and horror there is across Haringey over this," she said. "The very sad fact is that you cannot stop people who are determined to kill children." She added that "lessons will be learned" and that, with hindsight, different actions could have been taken.
Police investigating the case said that the mother had persistently covered up the abuse. Detective Superintendent Caroline Bates, of Scotland Yard's child abuse investigation command, said: "She repeatedly chose to mislead professionals in order to enable the continued abuse of her son. We cannot guarantee a child will not be the victim of abuse by his carers, but we continue to investigate allegations of child abuse and to assess the risks to children based on information available."
The three defendants will be sentenced on December 15, and face maximum sentences of up to 14 years in prison.
Care professionals denied yesterday that the case showed the system established after the Climbié inquiry did not work. Maggie Atkinson, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: "While this case is clearly an individual tragedy, it is not a symptom of a broken child-protection system ... This work is complex and difficult and sadly we cannot eliminate risk or the miscalculation of risk. Not every tragedy can be prevented but we must continue to strive to do so - we owe this child and those who loved him that much."
The foundation set up in the wake of the Climbié case called for a full inquiry. Mor Dioum, director of the Victoria Climbié Foundation, said: "This case is worse than Climbié. The signs were there but were not followed." There had been lapses in information sharing between the agencies and the child had not been put first, he suggested. "I do not think they can scapegoat an individual in this case. We must look at the system as a whole."
Wes Cuell, acting chief executive of the NSPCC, said last night: "Even with substantial child-protection reforms, spotting the danger to an individual child remains fraught with difficulty - especially when the child is too young to speak out."
On average, 47 preschool children are killed every year, mostly by parents or carers. Some of them not known to local agencies before they are killed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/12/baby-p-child-protection-ha...
31 March 2008
4 hours 18 min
Sixty missed chances to save baby 'used as a punchbag'
Baby P was released from care three times despite terrible injuries caused or allowed by his mother and two men
Everyone knew that Baby P was in danger. In eight months of abuse, he was seen no fewer than 60 times by health or social workers.
But his mother was able to conceal the scale of the danger he was in by manipulating social workers, police and health professionals - on one occasion smearing him with chocolate to cover his bruises. She deceived the authorities with the appearance of cooperation, taking the child to doctors when he was ill and apparently seeking help. On three occasions, the baby was released back into her care. The last was two months before he died.
Baby P's brief life began on March 1 2006 in north London. Within three months, his father had left and his mother had begun a relationship with a man she met in a pub, one of the two men yesterday found guilty of causing or allowing his death.
The first clear signs of abuse began to appear on the child's body in December 2006, a month after the boyfriend moved in. He had no previous convictions and police have found no evidence that he harmed other children, but one detective said he was "sadistic - fascinated with pain" and jurors heard suggestions that he may have tortured his younger brother during childhood. He was described by many witnesses in court as "simple".
The child was used "almost like a punchbag" by adults who were supposed to be looking after him, the prosecution told the Old Bailey, while his mother did nothing about it.
Police believe the biggest factor in the tragedy was the boyfriend's hidden presence in the house. Had they known he was living there, Baby P might have been saved, detectives say. As it was, police had no idea that he had been in the house because he had "purposefully evaded" them at every opportunity. They believe he may have deliberately targeted the family to get at the mother's £450-a-month benefits. For her part, the child's mother concealed her boyfriend's presence because she was afraid her benefits would be cut, and because she was worried about how the baby's father would react.
On December 11 2006, Baby P's mother took the child to her GP, who noticed that the baby had bruises on his face, chest and right shoulder. When the mother failed to provide a reasonable explanation, he sent them to hospital.
The baby was examined at the Whittington hospital in north London by a consultant paediatrician, Dr Heather Mackinnon, who concluded the bruises were probably not accidental.
Although Baby P's mother said he had fallen off the sofa, Dr Mackinnon wrote in her notes: "Not to be allowed home. Police protection order if necessary."
Four days later, Baby P was discharged and placed, informally, in the care of a family friend while police and social workers investigated.
The social workers who visited the council flat that housed the family and three dogs found it was dirty, untidy, and smelt of urine. The baby was often left playing with toys alone while his mother surfed the net or watched television, the court heard. Police described her as "a slob, completely divorced from reality". The court heard that she seemed more devoted to her dogs than her son.
On December 19, Baby P's mother was arrested for assaulting him and three days later the baby was placed on the child protection register.
The time the child spent in the care of the family friend must have been the happiest of his life. For the month he was with her, he was described as a quiet and placid little boy who was no trouble. More significantly, he did not develop new bruises.
Baby P was returned to his mother on January 26 2007. By then, she had been moved into a house in Tottenham. Social services did not know that her boyfriend had also moved with her.
The mother said she would get rid of the dogs and promised to cooperate with the allocated social worker, Maria Ward, and the health visitor, Paulette Thomas, to get Baby P's name off the register.
A friend who visited the mother at home in early April recalled seeing a withdrawn and bruised Baby P sitting in the garden eating dirt. The mother told her that he had grown fond of the woman who had looked after him for a month.
"She said he wanted picking up and cuddles all the time," said the friend.
On April 9, Baby P was taken to hospital with swelling and bruising on the side of his head. His mother claimed he had been pushed over by an older child and hit his head on a marble fireplace.
The doctor who examined the child became concerned, and Baby P was admitted to hospital and social services informed. However, once Baby P had been given the all-clear for meningitis, he was allowed home.
By this time the relationship between Baby P's mother and her boyfriend had begun to deteriorate, and by June 2007 the atmosphere in the house grew more tense - especially after a man named Jason Owen moved in at the end of June.
Owen, who moved in because he had split up with his wife and was on the run with his 15-year-old girlfriend, was also found guilty yesterday of causing or allowing the baby's death. Jurors heard that Owen dominated the boyfriend. A witness said: "He was more nervous around Jason. He would do what he was asked to do."
It had already become obvious that substantial action would be needed to protect Baby P. Ward, the social worker, made an unannounced visit just before lunchtime on June 1 and found him lying on the sofa under a blanket. His face was red and she saw bruises under his chin. Four days later, the mother was arrested for a second time.
She denied harming him and told detectives that she was "a damn good mum". The decision was taken on a "multi-agency basis" to allow Baby P back into his mother's care - albeit under the supervision of the family friend who had looked after him before.
By the end of June, contact between the mother, the social worker and the health visitor had become erratic.
The last time Ward saw Baby P was on July 30. He was sitting in his buggy in the hall, his face, hands and clothes smeared with chocolate. Even though he was restless and fidgety, he smiled at her. Owen later told police that the mother and her boyfriend had rubbed chocolate over the baby to hide his injuries.
Senior police officers had concluded Baby P should not be returned. Legal advice was sought to see whether there was enough evidence to take him into care, but just over a week before he died, Haringey council's lawyers said that the "evidence threshold" had not been reached. On August 1, the mother took Baby P to the child development centre at St Anne's hospital in Haringey. There he was examined by a consultant paediatrician, Dr Sabah al-Zayyat, who noted that the baby appeared "cranky" and "miserable", but did not find any indication that he had fractured ribs or a broken back.
"He didn't look any different from a child of his age with a common cold," she told the court. "He was sitting without support. There was no reason to suspect anything else."
However, two medical experts told the court that they believed that his injuries would have been evident. Dr al-Zayyat is now being investigated by the General Medical Council.
The next day, his mother was told that she would face no further action following the allegations of assault, as the Crown Prosecution Service had concluded that there was not enough evidence to bring charges.
At 11.35am on August 3 2007, an ambulance was called to the house. Its crew found Baby P already stiff and blue in his blood-spattered cot. As they tried to rush him to hospital, the mother demanded they wait while she collected her cigarettes.
The baby was pronounced dead in hospital at 12.20pm. His mother was arrested that afternoon, while police caught up with her boyfriend and Owen at a campsite in Epping Forest 11 days later.
One detective said: "We had a mother who was purporting to cooperate and who again and again was taking her kid to various doctors and support agencies.
"But it's now clear that she constantly conspired to keep from us what was going on ... If only we'd known what these adults were like."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/12/child-protection-crime-baby-p
31 March 2008
4 hours 18 min
8 November 2008
3 hours 18 min
thats is so sad, horrible, disgusting and completely unbelievable
p.s thanks, uv helped me with my citizenship hmwrk!
If Allah(swt)Brings You To it, He will Bring You Through It
2 November 2008
4 weeks 10 hours
This has really upset me
I feel so disgusted at the mum for treating her own child that way; i hope she gets life but the messed up thing is she'll probably be released in a few years. The baby should've been taken into care as soon as he was born. I've read cases about social workers who "snatch" newborns from their mothers as soon as they are born without any valid or concrete evidence and the parents are unable to appeal or do anything about it. The whole system is messed up.
By the way why is the baby called "baby P" and why are they hiding the pictures of the baby, i dont understand what exactly they are trying to protect?
25 June 2005
9 hours 32 min
Salam
Baby P was brutally tortured to death over many days.
That is pure evil.
The men who killed the kid should hang by the balls.
The woman by the...
She should be fried on the electric chair.
Omrow
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10 November 2008
13 hours 35 min
If they give his name then the family will be recognised, and no matter how heartless and cruel they have been, I don't think they should be killed by a mob before they're tried, Baby P will never get closure, and we don't want that.
"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything!"
Motto of Outlandish
21 November 2006
2 hours 10 min
It's the law.
The frown of a friend is better than the smile of a fool.
10 October 2005
11 hours 5 min
Baby P picture
No not the gum drop buttons! – Gingy
31 March 2008
4 hours 18 min
Natural father of Baby P condemns those who caused his son's death
Father says guilty verdict will help bring closure to a traumatic timeThe natural father of Baby P has for the first time publicly condemned his former partner, her lover and another man who were tonight facing "substantial" prison terms for torturing and killing the boy.
In a statement issued through his lawyer, the father described his sadness at the death of his "bouncing" 17-month-old son.
"The guilty verdict will help me bring closure for what has been a traumatic time for me, P's family and all those who knew him," P's father, who cannot be named, said.
"I loved him deeply. Those who systematically tortured him and killed him kept it a secret not just from me but all the people who visited the house up until his death. Even after he died, they lied to cover up their abuse."
Earlier, Judge Stephen Kramer told the mother and her boyfriend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and 36-year-old Jason Owen that they should not be fooled into thinking otherwise because he had ordered pre-sentence reports.
"A substantial term of imprisonment is the likely outcome," he told them.
The 27-year-old woman and 32-year-old man from Haringey, north London, and Owen, from Bromley, south-east London, were remanded in custody on Tuesday and will be sentenced on December 15.
Owen and the woman appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today while the boyfriend appeared on a video link for the brief hearing.
Seventeen-month-old Baby P died after his back was broken following eight months of torture while on the Haringey child protection register.
The failure of Haringey social services to protect him from months of abuse has focussed attention on the council, eight years after the death of Victoria Climbié.
Four separate inquiries are underway into how the boy was allowed to perish.
Tonight the children's secretary, Ed Balls, promised action once the inspectors complete their reviews.
"I will then do what it takes so that, while we can't take away the pain and suffering of this poor little boy, we can't take away the anger we feel, we can take the action required to ensure not just accountability but also that we prevent this happening in the future."
Baby P died in August last year after suffering more than 50 injuries and despite 60 visits by health and social care workers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/14/baby-p-child-protection
31 March 2008
4 hours 18 min
Baby P is just ONE example from the million...
10 November 2008
13 hours 35 min
And only NOW, they have apologised.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7728243.stm
The bureacracy has lost so much credibility.
"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything!"
Motto of Outlandish