Baby P Essay

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Peter Connelly (also known as "Baby P", "Child A''] and "Baby Peter") was a British 17-month old boy who died in London after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, during which he was repeatedly seen by Haringey Children's services and NHS health professionals. Baby P's real first name was revealed as "Peter" on the conclusion of a subsequent trial of Peter's mother's boyfriend on a charge of raping a two-year-old. His full identity was revealed when his killers were named after the expiry of a court anonymity order on 10 August 2009. The case caused shock and concern among the public and in Parliament, partly because of the magnitude of Peter's injuries, and partly because Peter had lived in the London Borough of Haringey, North London, under the same child care authorities that had already failed ten years earlier in the case of Victoria Climbié. This had led to a public enquiry, which resulted in measures being put in place in an effort to prevent similar cases happening. Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and Jason Owen (later revealed to be the brother of Barker) were all convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child, the mother having pleaded guilty to the charge. A court order issued by the High Court in England had prevented the publication of the identity of Baby P; Mr Justice Coleridge lifted this on 1 May 2009. An order sought by Haringey Council to stop publication of the identities of his mother and her boyfriend, was granted, but expired on 10 August 2009. The child protection services of Haringey and other agencies were widely criticised. Following the conviction, three inquiries and a nationwide review of social service care were launched, and the Head of Children's Services at Haringey removed by direction of the Government minister. Lord Laming conducted another nationwide review
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