Call made to publish Baby P report

Children's Secretary Ed Balls agreed to let a small group of MPs read the serious case review into the little boy's tragic death while on the child protection register.

But he refused to make the full document public, voicing concerns that identifying the professionals involved could jeopardise future investigations.

Three Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs who have read the serious case review wrote a letter to Mr Balls urging him to change his position.

They said: "There is clearly a strong public interest in the case of Baby P, and a determination to ensure that the lessons of this tragic case are learned.

"Now that we have all read the full report, we believe that it is clearly in the public interest that this should be published, with the exception of a small number of passages which give sensitive personal information."

The letter was signed by Conservative and Lib Dem children's spokesmen Michael Gove and David Laws, and local MP Lynne Featherstone.

Baby P was 17 months old when he died in a blood-splattered cot in Haringey, north London, in August last year.

He had suffered more than 50 injuries at the hands of his abusive mother, her boyfriend and a lodger despite repeated visits by the authorities.

A judge has warned the trio they are facing "substantial" terms in prison when they are sentenced at the Old Bailey.