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Baby P's stepfather, jailed over the toddler's death, has boasted about how he doted on him, saying he was a caring parent.
Steven Barker, 33, told how he was a loving father figure to the children of Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P, saying he tucked them in at night, made them sandwiches for school and tenderly brushed their hair in the mornings.
He made the statement in his Belmarsh prison cell, where he is preparing to appeal against his 12-year sentence for causing and allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter. He is also appealing against his conviction for the rape of a two-year-old girl, for which he was given life, with a 10-year minimum.
Baby P died after suffering sustained abuse and neglect at the hands of his 28-year-old mother, Barker and Barker's brother, Jason Owen, 37, despite being on Haringey's at-risk register.
Connelly admitted causing or allowing the death and was given an indeterminate sentence with a five-year minimum tariff. Owen, 37, from Bromley, was given an indeterminate sentence and told he would serve at least three years.
Barker, who never gave evidence at the trio's trial, says they were a happy family.
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