More On the Death Of Baby P...... ( Archived) (2)

Haringey ‘overruled’ attempt to put Baby P into care
Adam Fresco, Crime Correspondent

A senior manager at the social services department in Haringey, North London, overruled the concerns of colleagues and senior police officers to return Baby P to his mother and his eventual death, it has been claimed.

Panorama will state tonight that Sylvia Henry, a social worker, had decided in December 2006, after Baby P was taken to hospital with non-accidental injuries, that he should be taken into foster care. She was overruled. Ms Henry had arranged a placement, but it was decided after discussions with senior managers that the toddler should be looked after by a family friend instead, according to the BBC programme.

In her witness statement, given to police and seen by the programme, Ms Henry said that she was “very reluctant” to allow the child to go to the family friend, Angela Godfrey, but was bound by the Children Act 1989 to explore options fully with extended family and friends.

In her statement she said: “My impression of Angela was that she believed the local authority was overreacting and that the explanation for Baby P’s injuries were those of his mother’s, that they were caused by rough play and by his head-banging.”
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Fearing for Baby P’s safety, Ms Henry had delayed his return to his mother, agreeing with police that the child should remain out of her care. According to the BBC programme, What Happened to Baby P?, however, she was instructed by a senior colleague that the child should go home.

Ms Henry said that she had kept the foster place open but, because there was no evidence for a prosecution, “reluctantly it was agreed that with changes to the home environment in place and all the support services in place with the family, there were little grounds for Baby P to remain out of the care of his mother”.

Haringey has told Panorama that the only consideration in any decision is the welfare of the child. It denies that any concerns about the placement of Baby P with Ms Godfrey were raised.

In relation to the claims of disagreements with the police, it said that a rigorous discussion between professionals was to be expected when dealing with child protection and that the police agreed to the final plans for Baby P. Senior police officers have told The Times that they were furious that they were overruled when they wanted Baby P to be taken into care.

The Times has reported previously that, when Baby P’s mother gave birth to another child while on remand in Holloway prison, social workers again argued with the police that she should be allowed to see her baby. They said they “needed to let her bond” with the child and that to do otherwise would breach her human rights.

Police objected and said that she had no right to see the child. A source said: “There was no way that police were going to allow this baby to be looked after by the mother.”

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