Britain in Uproar Over Death of Abused Toddler, Visited by Social Workers 60 Times

[AnthemZ]

Britain in Uproar Over Death of Abused Toddler, Visited by Social Workers 60 Times

Thursday , November 13, 2008

AP




LONDON — The toddler had been visited 60 times by social workers. A doctor examined him but missed the fact he had a broken back and eight fractured ribs. His mother managed to explain away his constant bruises time and time again.

Now the 17-month-old boy known only as "Baby P" is dead — and all of Britain is aghast at the details of his short life.

Britain announced a government inquiry into just how child services failed to protect the boy, and two more infant deaths reported Thursday only increased the criticism heaped on the country's child welfare services.

The grisly details of the case — along with a computer-generated image of the boy's badly scarred face — were splashed across the front pages of Britain's leading tabloids Thursday.

The Sun newspaper said those in charge had "blood on their hands" and demanded that everyone involved be fired. The Daily Telegraph newspaper asked how a baby could "be tortured and killed in the full glare of officialdom in a country that thinks itself among the most compassionate on earth."

When opposition leader David Cameron demanded an independent inquiry into the death, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused him of playing partisan politics with the case.

"I think the whole country shares the outrage, the whole country wants to see action," Brown said after an unusually testy exchange in Parliament. As the debate intensified Wednesday, the speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, had to intervene to keep tempers in check.

The toddler was tortured for months by his mother's boyfriend and a lodger, who were found guilty this week of causing or allowing his death. The baby's mother had pleaded guilty to the same offenses in September. The identities of the child, his mother and her boyfriend have not been revealed for legal reasons.

Haringay Council, a north London local authority, said Baby P had been on its register of vulnerable children for months before he died.

Social workers had visited the child 60 times over an eight-month period but his mother managed to persuade them that he got his injuries by knocking against fireplaces or scrapping with other toddlers. Two days before he died, a pediatrician who saw him at a child development center did not notice his broken back or fractured ribs.

Two social workers and a lawyer who worked on the case have been given formal warnings and the pediatrician faces an inquiry, but so far no one has been fired over the matter.

Two more child deaths were reported Thursday — a 2-year-old Romario Mullings-Sewell and his 3-month-old brother Delayno were stabbed in the stomach. Their mother was arrested for murder and again, the local authority admitted they knew the family needed help.

The deaths have sparked an emotional debate into child welfare in Britain. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children estimates around 35 children in England and Wales are killed each year by a parent.

"The country is right to ask why these mistakes keep happening and who is accountable. We do not think more system reform is required, but we need to improve basic practice, by training and supervising workers better," the society's chief Wes Cuell said.

In the United States, whose population is roughly six times larger, the federal government says an estimated 1,530 children died due to child abuse or neglect in 2006 — with about 75 percent of those deaths attributable to a parent.

Britain, sadly, has seen this before. Haringay Council was criticized eight years ago when 8-year-old Victoria Climbie died after social workers failed to notice she was being tortured and starved by her guardians.

The case led to a national review of child protection services.

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If they lose their jobs, they can always come to the U.S.! Social Services love to employ people like this!

[Nemowork]

the trouble is that its Haringey council from inner city london, they had some nasty incidents a few years back added to a far left 'respect for minorities' agenda and transitory immigrants, low budgets and so on and the place is a mess.

add that to bureaucratic box ticking to cover your back and theyre overworked, politically backstabbing and nationally famous for being incompetent.

[Meursault]

Same kind of horrible shit keeps happening here every few months because a lot of cash-strapped communities decided Children and Family Services are a good place to slash costs.

[AnthemZ]

Originally Posted by Nemowork

the trouble is that its Haringey council from inner city london, they had some nasty incidents a few years back added to a far left 'respect for minorities' agenda and transitory immigrants, low budgets and so on and the place is a mess.

add that to bureaucratic box ticking to cover your back and theyre overworked, politically backstabbing and nationally famous for being incompetent.

That's just a carbon copy of every major cities SS department in the U.S.!!

Shit like this happens every week somewhere! The news started to ignore it years ago because it makes the ..................... look bad! And that can't happen!!

[Nemowork]

i think the point is that we've had a labour government who promised to put money into services and generally improve the country so when something like this happens the people who've paid the taxes feel betrayed and really angry.

That and the oh so sensible statement from social services that while the system might have some faults due to budgets and so on it cant be held to blame.

that got people angry, its that whole system versus human decency thing.

[marquis]

Originally Posted by Nemowork

i think the point is that we've had a labour government who promised to put money into services and generally improve the country so when something like this happens the people who've paid the taxes feel betrayed and really angry.

That and the oh so sensible statement from social services that while the system might have some faults due to budgets and so on it cant be held to blame.

that got people angry, its that whole system versus human decency thing.

Labour governments are very good at putting money into things. What they can't do is to get this extra money to make much difference.They just don't seem to see how things work.

The worst thing was to see the Head of Social Services on television saying that there was no cause for anyone to lose their job and Haringey SS had been awarded 3 stars so it must be good.Quite frankly in my book those in charge , for whatever reason, allowed this thing to happen which proves that they aren't up to the job.

How can anybody deliberately harm a kid that age? Beyond belief. Thankfully when they get to jail the other prisoners know how to deal with people like that.

[the rager]

heres a blog about these so called human beings, with pictures of them






death is too good for these scumbags

[marquis]

Originally Posted by the rager

heres a blog about these so called human beings, with pictures of them






death is too good for these scumbags

I've got a little guy at about his age and I would rather die than hurt him.In my opinion these people have forfeited their human rights.
I hope that their fellow prisoners will treat them as kindly as they treated the toddler.

[thebytch]

I watched a tv programme last night about the cock up that Haringey council made yet again
A social worker was been interviewed off camera and she said that there were told if the didnt like the way things were ran at Haringey council there could always leave and find other jobs
She also said that it was down to there not been enough money available to keep him in a foster family this is the reason he was returned to his family
I really do think some heads should roll because of this starting with Maria Ward his social worker who saw this boy just days before his death
Surely she is trained to look for things like choc covering bruising
and how a GP can see a child 2 days before his death and not notice broken ribs and a broken back is beyond me
everyone from the parents to the highest person in Haringey council should be standing in that dock charged with his murder and prison is too good for any of them
there should be all tortured slowly and painfully just like Baby P was


R.I.P. LITTLE ONE