Afternoon:
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We've had a raft of excuses and no apology
David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party12 Nov 2008
Watching the news last night took my breath away. My wife Sam couldn't watch and left the room.
The details of the short life and terrible death of Baby P will never leave me, and I pity the jury for having to listen to them.
That three people could inflict such pain on such a small child is beyond comprehension and beyond contempt. As a father of three young children who I would do anything to protect, I am sickened to the core by these crimes.
After the shock and sadness comes anger. It is an outrage that less than 10 years after the murder of Victoria Climbié - and more than three decades since the case of Maria Colwell - another child was left to slip through the safety net to their death.
The signs were there - the bruises and injuries, the suspicions and intuitions - but Baby P was left to suffer at the hands of these sick people. How on earth was this allowed to happen?
It's not like he wasn't known to the social services. A number of social workers, health visitors, doctors, nurses and police officers observed and examined him. Each time a tragic missed opportunity. But reading the reports it seems that no one - not one of these people - is willing to hold their hand up and take responsibility.
We've had a raft of excuses and not one apology. Everyone says they followed protocol to the letter and that the fault lies with some systemic failure.
But we cannot allow the words "systemic failure" to absolve anyone of any responsibility. Systems are made up of people and the buck has got to stop somewhere.
The Laming report into Victoria Climbié's death recommended that one person should be responsible for the co-ordination of social services, health services and police, to bring these threads together to protect children. They've got to come up with some answers, fast. Why, when the police expressed strong suspicions to social services, was the child not taken into care? Why were they not more sceptical of the mother, considering her arrest for assault? How could a baby who was on the child protection register end up suffering such neglect that, according to one expert, he had endured injuries similar to the "force of a car crash"?
If they can't answer these questions satisfactorily, they shouldn't be in the job.
My view of society is that it works best when the basic principle of communal life is adhered to, and that's personal responsibility. Society cannot work properly unless individuals carry the consequences of their actions.
In the case of actions which are criminal, as they clearly were with the killers of this baby boy, the consequence must be clear: prison. But the same is true for professional negligence.
Those whose job it was to oversee this system have failed. They must admit that and pay a price.
But the biggest concern now is how we stop this from ever happening again. Part of that is about reinforcing professional responsibility, as I've argued.
But it's also about making sure these professionals talk to each other and work with each other more, and ensuring that social workers are properly resourced, trained and motivated to keep on top of their cases.
We all know that professionals talking to each other is the key to catching child abuse - the teacher who notices bruises talking to social services; the hospital doctor with suspicions telling the police.
It's through communication that suspicions are reinforced, dots are joined and action can be taken.
Since the Laming report joint-agency talking has got a lot better. The trouble is that too often professionals may be talking to each other, but they're not actually doing anything to follow that up.
There'll be lots of talk now about resources and coordination, reviews and procedures and yes, these things are important. Yes, social workers need the time and tools to stay on top of their cases. Yes, it's true that in the neediest parts of the country - places like Haringey - social workers are seriously over-stretched and under-resourced.
But let's be frank - this child was seen not once, not twice, but 60 times. The whistle should have been blown, the child should have been taken into care, the repeated cruelty should have been stopped. It's about responsibility, not just in procedure and protocol.
No amount of child protection legislation is a substitute for properly trained and supported professionals at the sharp end, social workers who can spend time with vulnerable children and not in front of computer screens collecting data and ticking boxes.
But more than that, there's no substitute for common sense and responsibility. The common sense that says this child is being abused, and the responsibility to do something about it.
It's these instincts we need to lead child protection - for the sake of all children who are at risk, and in memory of Baby P.
Reader views (3)
This is one of the saddest and tragic things I have ever read. We should all be profoundly ashamed that we have a system of government that has so comprehensively failed to protect this poor little baby from prolonged cruelty and abuse. This is a national disgrace. I agree with most of what you said in your article. However, in terms of responsibility of the social workers involved, i think this warrants more than apologies and resignations. The DPP should be asked to examine this case to see if charges should be laid for criminal negligence.
Furthermore, whilst i also believe a government investigation into the matter is essential, what will come out of it will be more recommendations and bureaucratic guidelines for social workers to follow. This is not necessarily what we need. The problem is that social work in the UK is undervalued. I am sure there are some very competent and talented people working in this sector in the UK. However, there are clearly people who are not competent and should not be working in this field. We should have the very best people performing this role. The only way we will achieve this is by paying higher salaries, improving working conditions and boosting the profile of this profession to attract the sort of people that should be working in this sector. If we don't have a social services system in place that can protect our children from this sort of abuse then this country is finished.
- Richard Keenan, London, UK, 13/11/2008 13:21
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Every evening the coach back to Suffolk has passed through Haringey on my commute home. I feel personally sickened to think that I've been within a mile or two of such brutality and tortures inflicted on a helpless little baby — however unaware of this I may have been.
I just cannot comprehend how Haringey Children's department, who had no less than 60 contacts with Baby P in the bloody, bruised and broken flesh, can look themselves in the mirror as they get ready for work, still less hide behind their bureaucratic excuses to hang on to their jobs. David Cameron has exposed the heart of darkness in the governance of this country today and has my full support.
- Susanna Smith, Newmarket Suffolk, 13/11/2008 03:06
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Such a sad case. And you are correct, not one of the agencies or departments involved including the doctor actually put a stop to this mess. Even if they had better pooling of info, they still would need to actually raise a red flag. I see no flags raised here. Shameful and sad and I hope big changes of accountability by such departments come about because of this. I also do personally believe there should be at the very least, sackings though I would like to see more arrests in this terrible case of neglect not just of the family involved but of the very departments meant to prevent this. It is time to blow the lid off the secrecy of these departments and hold a proper public inquiry into their behavior and practices.
- M.F., UK, 12/11/2008 14:19
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