News round up: Baby P’s mother drops appeal against sentence

Baby P’s mother drops appeal against sentence

The mother of Baby Peter, who was jailed indefinitely for her part in her son’s brutal death, has dropped a bid to appeal against her sentence.

Tracey Connelly, 28, Tottenham, north London, who was jailed at the Old Bailey in May, was expected to have an appeal application heard by senior judges in the court of appeal tomorrow.

Read more on this story in the Guardian

Children of prisoners not considered by 90% of local authorities

More than 90% of local authorities are overlooking the needs of prisoners’ children, according to the children’s charity Barnado’s.

Barnardo’s found that although government policies refer to these children as “disadvantaged”, only 20 out of 208 UK local authorities and health boards made any reference to the group in their children’s plan.

Read more on this story in the Guardian

Jail release ‘cover-up’ as 48 criminals are freed to murder and rape in a single year

Freed criminals supposedly under strict supervision committed 48 serious offences last year – including rape and murder.
The figures will reignite concerns about the ability of the police and probation services to protect the public from released dangermen.

Paedophile checks even for those not working with children

An estimated 11.3 million people – including parents who join school rotas to take pupils to sports events – already face having their backgrounds checked to allow them to work with children.

But Sir Roger Singleton, the chairman of the Independent Safeguarding Authority, said the scope of the database could increase significantly because companies would fear losing business if they did not have their employees vetted.

Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph