The prison sentence imposed on the mother of the Baby P, the 17-month-old whose death exposed a series of appalling failings in the care system, provoked confusion and anger on Friday, with ministers being forced to defend the complex system that could allow her to apply for parole in three and a half years despite evidence that the boy suffered horrific abuse in her care.
The mother of the toddler, who can now be named as Peter, was jailed indefinitely by the judge, who said she was “manipulative” and “calculating,” and presented a continuing risk to children.
She was given a minimum sentence of 10 years, which means she will serve at least five before she becomes eligible for parole. But because she has already spent almost two years on remand, campaigners and children’s charities said she could get her first hearing as early as August 2012.
The NSPCC [National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children] led the condemnation, saying the sentence was inadequate.
“We are disappointed that the minimum tariff was so low,” said Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of the charity. “It raises the question of how bad the abuse has to be before offenders get a longer minimum time in prison.”
The NSPCC also condemned the sentence handed out to Jason Owen, a lodger at Baby P’s home, who was given an indeterminate jail sentence with a minimum sentence of six years. That means he could apply for parole in 2011, having spent three years in prison.
“Peter suffered sustained abuse, leaving him with horrendous injuries,” Flanagan said. “Two of his abusers could walk free at a time when Peter should be a schoolboy with a new world in front of him. Despicable cruelty has denied him that opportunity.”
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green [in north London] and the local MP in the case, said she would be shocked if the mother did not serve a lengthy sentence.
The Sun newspaper, which campaigned for social workers in the Baby P case to be sacked, immediately turned its fire on the justice system, urging readers to sign an online petition demanding longer sentences in this case. The furore led UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw to defend the system introduced by the then-home secretary David Blunkett four years ago.
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