Baby P’s father says he was never considered as carer

Baby P’s father claimed social services involved in the case “always took the mother’s point of view” and never assessed him as a possible carer, according to an interview included in the full serious case review of the case.

The child’s father, known in the review as “Mr A”, said: “From day one, social services always took the mother’s point of view – so much so that I wasn’t allowed to take [Peter] and I was never assessed as a viable carer at this point. I felt sidelined – an extra in the play.”

Peter Connelly’s father said he alerted a social worker to the presence of Steven Barker, the boyfriend of Peter’s mother, in the child’s home, but no action was taken.

He also claimed that he would have taken time off work to look after the toddler when the mother, Tracey Connelly, was deemed unfit to look after the child herself, but social services had not considered him as an option.

Peter’s father added that Tracey Connelly had been “brought up under a culture of social services” and therefore “knew how to deceive them”.

Other revelations in the SCR include the presence of two other children in the house, belonging to Jason Owen, the brother of Steven Barker. Both these children, along with Peter, were the subjects of child protection plans when Peter died.

What do you think? Join the debate on CareSpace

Keep up to date with the latest developments in social care. Sign up to our daily and weekly emails

Related articles

Baby P SCRs published in full in bid to bring closure

Getting to know the role of fathers in the family

Baby P social workers lose appeal against sacking

Baby Peter case in Haringey