Timeline of Baby P case

  • Published

An account of the developments surrounding the case of 17-month-old boy Baby Peter who died in Haringey, north London, in August 2007 after suffering a series of injuries:

1 March 2006: Baby Peter is born to Tracey Connelly.

June 2006: Connelly begins a relationship with a new boyfriend Steven Barker.

November 2006: Barker moves into Connelly's home.

December 2006: Connelly is arrested after bruises are spotted on the boy's face and chest by a GP.

January 2007: The boy is returned home five weeks after being put in the care of a family friend.

February 2007: A whistle-blower, former social worker Nevres Kemal, sends a letter about her concerns over alleged failings in child protection in Haringey to the Department of Health.

12 March 2007: Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) inspectors meet Haringey officials to discuss concerns raised by Ms Kemal in the letter sent by her lawyer, which was dated 16 February 2007.

April 2007: Baby Peter is admitted to North Middlesex hospital with bruises, two black eyes and swelling on the left side of his head.

1 April 2007: Ofsted takes over responsibility for inspecting children's services from the CSCI.

May 2007: After seeing marks on the boy's face, a social worker sends Baby Peter to the North Middlesex where 12 areas of bruises and scratches are found. Connelly is re-arrested.

June 2007: Barker's brother, Jason Owen, moves into the home with a 15-year-old girl.

30 July 2007: Injuries to Baby Peter's face and hands are missed by a social worker after the boy is deliberately smeared with chocolate to hide them.

1 August 2007: The boy is examined at a child development clinic.

2 August 2007: Police tell Connelly she will not be prosecuted after her case is considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

3 August 2007: Baby Peter is found dead in his cot.

11 November 2008: Owen, 36, from Bromley, and Barker, then 32, are found guilty of causing the death of Baby Peter. Connelly had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

13 November 2008: Children's Minister Ed Balls orders an inquiry into the role of the local authority, the health authority and the police in the case of Baby Peter.

14 November 2008: Downing Street denies accusations of "buck-passing" after details of whistle-blower Nevres Kemal's letter about Haringey's failings emerge.

1 December 2008: Following a report into Haringey Children's Services, its leader George Meehan and cabinet member for children and young people Liz Santry resign. Sharon Shoesmith is removed as the local authority's director of children's services.

8 December 2008: Ms Shoesmith is sacked by a panel of councillors with immediate effect.

7 February 2009: Ms Shoesmith says the way ministers handled the Baby Peter case was "breathtakingly reckless".

19 February 2009: Dr Jerome Ikwueke, a GP who saw Baby Peter 14 times before his death, is suspended by the General Medical Council.

9 March 2009: Ms Shoesmith lodges an employment tribunal claim against Haringey Council.

15 March 2009: A leaked report into the death of Baby Peter suggests there were further missed opportunities to save him from abuse.

29 April 2009: Haringey Council dismisses a social worker and three managers for failings in the care of Baby Peter.

1 May 2009: Barker is convicted of raping a two-year-old girl in north London. The crime came to light after he was arrested over Baby Peter's death. The Old Bailey jury cleared Connelly of cruelty to the girl. Baby Peter's name is revealed at the request of his family.

13 May 2009: The NHS is criticised by the Care Quality Commission for failing in the care given to Baby Peter.

22 May 2009: Connelly gets an indefinite jail term with a minimum term of five years for her part in her son's death. Barker is jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years for raping the two-year-old and given a 12-year term to run concurrently over his role in Baby Peter's death. Owen gets an indefinite sentence with a minimum term of three years.

3 July 2009: Inspectors criticise Haringey Council, saying it has only made limited progress in tackling areas of weakness.

11 August 2009: Connelly and Barker are named for the first time after the expiry of a court order.

15 September 2010: Ms Shoesmith hits back over her sacking by Haringey Council, asking a Commons committee why the police and health services had not also been made to take responsibility.

21 September 2010: Connelly and Barker are denied public funding to be represented at any resumed inquest into the child's death. A pre-inquest review was told they had not been given funds for legal representation. Baby Peter's father had said he wanted an inquest to take place.

22 October 2010: Two social workers who dealt with Baby Peter, Gillie Christou and Maria Ward, lose their claim for unfair dismissal. They had argued they were sacked unfairly by Haringey Council following his death, but a tribunal found the authority acted reasonably because of failings in the care they provided.

26 October 2010: The second serious case review - the official account of the agencies' failings over Peter - is published, after the first one was ruled "inadequate" by Ofsted.

27 May 2011: The Court of Appeal rules in favour of Ms Shoesmith, who claims former Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Haringey Council acted unlawfully by sacking her.

24 June 2011: The Department for Education and Haringey Council confirm they will seek an appeal at the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal's ruling that Sharon Shoesmith was unfairly sacked.

2 August 2011: The Supreme Court refuses to grant officials leave to appeal against the decision that Ms Shoesmith was unfairly sacked.

5 August 2011: Jason Owen, now 39, is released from prison after serving three years of a six-year sentence.

5 March 2012: The natural father of Baby Peter, known as KC, is awarded £75,000 in damages after the publishers of The People wrongly accused him of being a sex offender.

25 May 2012: Haringey Council workers Gillie Christou and Maria Ward lose their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked.

29 May 2012: The Chief Executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital Dr Jane Collins announces she is to stand down.

31 October 2012: Baby P's natural father who was falsely accused of sex offences has his libel award of £75,000 cut to £50,000.

12 March 2013: The Court of Appeal backs an employment tribunal ruling that Baby P's social workers were not sacked unfairly by Haringey Council.

12 April 2013: Jason Owen is returned to prison for breaching conditions of his release.

8 October 2013: The Parole Board says it has directed the release of the mother of Baby Peter, Tracey Connelly.

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