London council 'saddened' over toddler's death

Haringey Council in London said today the death of a toddler who died of horrific injuries despite being on its at risk register…

Haringey Council in London said today the death of a toddler who died of horrific injuries despite being on its at risk register was a matter of "deepest sorrow".

"Our priority has to be and has always been to safeguard children in our borough and as an authority we were all devastated by the death of this child," said Haringey Cabinet Member for Children Liz Santry.

"If any further recommendations arise over the coming weeks we will not hesitate to act on them. We want our child protection to be the very best possible."

"It is a matter of the deepest sorrow that Baby P died in Haringey."

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The statement followed an announcement by the organisation which regulates social workers that it would examine the case of the 17-month-old boy, known only as Baby P, who died after repeated beatings.

The General Social Care Council (GSCC) said it would look into the actions of social workers in Haringey whose failure to prevent the child's death has led to widespread calls for heads to roll.

In the run-up to his death, the boy had been seen 60 times by doctors and social workers but no action was taken because they said the mother had concealed the truth from them.

Haringey has said two social workers and a lawyer have received formal warnings but that no one would be sacked.

"We are conducting our own preliminary enquiries to establish whether the circumstances have any bearing on the suitability of individual social workers to remain on the register," said Rosie Varley, the GSCC's chief executive.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has already ordered an independent inquiry into the care of children in the north London borough after a report by the council found a number of failings of practice and management over the case.

In addition, the director of children's services in Hampshire is to be seconded to work alongside his equivalent in Haringey to ensure proper children's procedures are in place.

Baby P had suffered a broken back before he was killed in August last year.

Officials said the toddler had been used as a "punch bag," had more than 40 injuries, and looked like a car crash victim by the time of his death.

His mother, her boyfriend and lodger Jason Owen (36), have all been convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.

It was the second serious child welfare tragedy in Haringey in recent years following the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie by her guardians in 2000.

The council was severely criticised over her death in one of Britain's worst-ever child abuse cases.

Her killing resulted in a public inquiry and a radical change in child protection policies.

Reuters