A care watchdog said today it investigated a whistleblower's allegation that child protection measures were not being followed at the London borough of Haringey six months before the death of Baby P.
The 17-month-old boy died from repeated beatings despite being on Haringey's "at risk" register.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) said it raised the allegation directly with Haringey at a formal meeting and was satisfied the council had dealt properly with the case after concerns were raised by a social worker.
It was the second serious child welfare tragedy in the borough in recent years following the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie by her guardians in 2000.
A lawyer acting for Nevres Kemal, the former social worker at Haringey, said he had written to then health secretary Patricia Hewitt calling for an investigation into the authority's failings in dealing with child abuse cases.
"Statutory child protection procedures are not being followed. Child sex abusers are not being tackled," said the letter sent to Ms Hewitt last February.
"Our client whistle-blew the fact that the sexual abuse had been ongoing for months and the new management brought in post-Climbie had not acted."
The letter was passed to the government Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), which wrote back suggesting the matter should be referred to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) which regulates social care in England.
"Our records show that we received a letter dated February 16th 2007 that was forwarded to us from the Department of Health, detailing an employment tribunal issue with Haringey Council, and containing an allegation that child protection procedures were not being followed in Haringey," the department said.
"The permanent secretary of the DCSF has looked at the reply and is confident that the proper procedures were followed."
Ms Kemal raised her concerns after working on a separate case involving the sexual abuse of children by a relative but her lawyer Lawrence Davies said his client's warning was ignored.
He told the BBC that Ms Kemal was now under a court injunction preventing her from discussing confidential child-protection matters.
Baby P died in August last year after repeated beatings in a campaign of domestic violence.
In the run-up to his death, he had been seen 60 times by doctors and social workers but no action was taken because they said his mother had concealed the truth from them.
The government has now ordered an inquiry into child welfare at Haringey after the mother, her boyfriend and lodger Jason Owen (36), were all convicted on Tuesday of causing or allowing the death of a child.
The General Social Care Council, which regulates social workers, has opened its own investigation into the case.
The government has also asked Lord Laming, who led an inquiry into Victoria Climbie's death, to carry out a nationwide review of child protection measures in the light of Baby P's case.
Reuters