A nationwide review of child protection services has been launched after two men were found guilty of involvement in the death of a 17-month-old baby who suffered horrific injuries after being used as a “punchbag”.
In a case described as one of the most severe child protection failures since the murder of Victoria Climbié, the boy’s mother had earlier pleaded guilty to involvement in his death.
The abuse of the child, known in court as Baby P, was said to have taken place over eight months, during which time the boy was on the child protection register of Haringey – the same local authority that was found to have failed seriously in its duty of care to Victoria, who died eight years ago.
The verdict prompted an immediate response from authorities:
• The children’s minister, Beverley Hughes, announced an independent review of child protection services.
• A senior paediatrician is under investigation over claims that she failed to spot that the child had a broken back and ribs.
• Two social workers and a lawyer had been given formal written warnings over the case.
Baby P, who was 17 months old, died after months of being used “as a punchbag” and then having his back and ribs broken, the court heard.
One of the men convicted of causing or allowing his death in the Old Bailey today was the 32-year-old boyfriend of the baby’s mother. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of murder charges.
The other man convicted today was Jason Owen, 37, who lodged in the same house. The boy’s 27-year-old mother pleaded guilty to the same charge at the start of the trial in September.
Both men have been remanded in custody to be sentenced on December 15.
Last week, on the orders of the judge, Stephen Kramer QC, the jury found the mother and Owen not guilty of murdering the baby on August 3 last year.
The children’s minister said she had asked Lord Laming, who chaired the Victoria Climbié inquiry, to prepare an independent report of progress being made to implement reforms set out following the Climbie case.
“Ed Balls [the children’s secretary] and I have today asked Lord Laming to prepare an independent report of progress being made across the country,” she said.
Lord Laming told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “It would be awful wherever it happened, but it seems particularly sad that it happened in the same area where Victoria experienced this awful cruelty and a terrible death and involved the very same services.”
He added: “What we know about people who deliberately harm children is that they go to great lengths to disguise their activities.
“People who work in this field have to be streetwise and they certainly have to be sceptical. They have to make sure that all the activities are monitored, that the child is regularly seen and that they observe the way in which child and parents relate to each other.”
Baby P was seen 60 times by health or social workers during that period, around twice a week. However, close to his death, he became unrecognisable, with more than 50 injuries or bruises, and an attempt had been made to cover up the crime.
A postmortem examination revealed the boy had a broken back, eight fractured ribs, missing fingernails and toenails, multiple bruises and an injury to the inside of his mouth. He had also swallowed one of his own teeth. The court heard that his back had been broken by slamming him down over a bent knee or a bannister, which would have left him paralysed.
It is claimed he was taken to hospital three times in the months before his death after being repeatedly beaten and abused. The child was last seen by social services on July 30 – when his mother and her boyfriend had smeared him with chocolate to cover up his injuries, according to Owen – and by a paediatrician two days before his death.
Sally O’Neill QC, prosecuting, told the jury that the boy was taken to a child development clinic at St Ann’s hospital, Haringey, on August 1.
By that time he is said to have had eight fractured ribs and a broken back, injuries that would have left him in terrible pain and unable to move his legs.
He was examined by a consultant paediatrician, Dr Sabah al-Zayyat, who noted that Baby P appeared “cranky” and “miserable” but was said not to have found any indication that he had fractured ribs or a broken back.
However, two medical experts told the court they believed those injuries would have been evident.
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 cot. He was taken to North Middlesex hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12.20pm.
The Old Bailey heard he should have been protected by social workers, police and health professionals, but his mother had manipulated them with lies.
Gillie Christou, in charge of social workers looking after children on the register in Haringey, told the court she had agreed to keep the baby with his mother.
She said: “I made the decision at the time based on the material in front of me and based on the background to the case.”
A detective in the case told the court the boy had more than 50 injuries, 15 of them to the mouth. He added that the boyfriend was “sadistic – fascinated with pain”.
The mother was “completely divorced from reality. She was living in a dream world and put her lover before her child. She closed her eyes to what was going on.”
Outside court today, Detective Superintendent Caroline Bates said police errors were made that caused a delay at the start of the abuse inquiry, but these had not been significant to the outcome.
“With hindsight, having the benefit of a major investigation, we know quite clearly that the mother was lying and trying to subvert agencies involved with the family,” she said.
In June, “police officers felt very strongly that [Baby P] should not be returned” to his mother, and a police inspector asked twice whether the threshold had been reached to start care proceedings.
“This was a huge tragedy which should have been avoided. If we had only known the truth about the adults in the house,” said Ms Bates.
In a statement after the verdicts, Sharon Shoesmith, chair of Haringey local safeguarding children board, said an independent review into what happened has been set up. Every recommendation had been acted upon, she said.
The independent review concluded that the abuse should have been discovered by the community paediatrician who saw the child two days before he died.
The report said that just over a week before Baby P died, the legal advice was that, on the information provided, the threshold for initiating care proceedings had not been met.
It said: “Expert medical opinion commissioned during the course of this serious case review concluded that a diagnosis of abuse should have been made at that point.”
Wes Cuell, the NSPCC acting chief executive, said professionals dedicated to protecting children were being “overwhelmed” by the scale of child abuse, and supporting them must be a priority for the government.
According to the NSPCC, half of the children killed or seriously injured through abuse and neglect are babies under a year old, while a further 20% are under the age of five. On average, 47 pre-school children are killed every year, mostly by their parents or carers.
After the verdicts, the judge, Stephen Kramer, excused members of the jury from serving for 10 years, telling them: “You have heard evidence of a harrowing nature and you have seen things which in the course of your everyday life you would not be expected to see.”
Guardian
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