Council 'sorry' over Baby P's death
The council criticised over Baby P's death has apologised for failing to do more to protect him.
The 17-month-old boy died in a blood-spattered cot in August last year despite 60 visits from the authorities over eight months, during which time he suffered more than 50 injuries.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls has ordered an urgent inquiry into child welfare services provided by Haringey Council in north London, the same local authority heavily criticised over the death of Victoria Climbie eight years ago.
Liz Santry, the council's cabinet member for children and young people, said staff had gone through a "huge amount of anguish" since Baby P's death 15 months ago. She told Sky News: "We are truly sorry that we did not do more to protect him."
The Government-ordered review will be carried out by Ofsted, for the Healthcare Commission and the Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
Mr Balls said the investigation, which started on Thursday and is due to make an initial report by December 1, would involve a "thorough inspection" of all services responsible for safeguarding children in Haringey.
The director of children's services in Hampshire, John Coughlan, has been drafted in to work alongside his counterpart in Haringey to ensure proper procedures for safeguarding children are applied while the inquiry takes place.
Ms Santry welcomed the review and said the council was commissioning an independent expert to lead a cross-party review of child protection in the borough.
She said: "This was a really tragic occurrence and the circumstances of his death are really dreadful. As you will know, he died over 15 months ago. For the past 15 months in Haringey there has been a huge amount of anguish and endless discussion about what more we might have done to save this little boy."
She added: "Our duty is to protect our children and we did not do so in this instance, and I would like to say how truly sorry we are."
