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Original poster

Identity of Baby P's Mother To Be Revealed Tonight.

264 replies

Nancy66 · 10/08/2009 14:51

Along with that of her boyfriend.

I'm loathe to defend or protect her but that can't possibly lead to anything good can it?

The names have been fairly easy to find online for quite a while but there's a hell of a difference between having to actively look for them and having her picture splashed across the front page of The Sun as it undoubtedly will be.

OP posts:
stuffitlllama · 10/08/2009 19:34

and mrs dead body mentioned that too

poopscoop · 10/08/2009 19:36

they were named and shamed via text pretty quickly after the trial.

corblimeymadam · 10/08/2009 19:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
Nancy66 · 10/08/2009 20:16

Of course you're not supposed to sit around with popcorn. This section is about stories in the news, this story is in the news, the thread title reveals why.

OP posts:
KingRolo · 10/08/2009 20:19

What the flip is wrong with the thread title? Straight-forward and to the point isn't it?

Overmydeadbody · 10/08/2009 20:22

perfectly reasonable thread title given that it is in the news topic.

wahwah · 10/08/2009 21:14

Lots of interesting points of view here, I find myself agreeing with practically everyone. Part of me thinks there is nothing to be gained by naming her and therefore no point in it, another part thinks that the normal course of justice should be followed, then another part of me is concerned about the impact on her children.

I don't agree about the ECM agenda being linked to failure to protect children. In theory it makes a great deal of sense and in practice as far as I can see and IMHO not had any real negative impact on the front line of child protection, if anything it's clarified the level of vulnerability and need that requires a Children's Social Care service.

MollieO · 10/08/2009 22:06

The court order expires at 11pm. Newsnight are doing a feature for those of you who are interested. I think there is more to this story than has so far been published.

thedolly · 10/08/2009 22:26

You think or you know?

MollieO · 10/08/2009 23:13

On Newsnight now.

MollieO · 10/08/2009 23:16

Boyfriend and lodger are brothers. Boyfriend described as a sadist with a fascination for inflicting pain. Mother viewed as being complicit.

MollieO · 10/08/2009 23:18

thedolly, no I don't know anything in terms of inside knowledge, just the nature of this case means it is so.

bronze · 10/08/2009 23:18

Or as Ghandi said

an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

MollieO · 10/08/2009 23:20

Newsnight report described the other four children as 'well settled' and hence the lifting of the court order would not have an impact on them.

stuffitlllama · 11/08/2009 00:20

Interesting coverage. The Mail and Grauniad focus on the mother more than the "partner", the Telegraph focuses on the taxpayer and the Express has Burn In Hell in there somewhere.

mamadiva · 11/08/2009 00:38

Oh god, just went onto the sun website and I see they have pictures of the vile oxygen thieves along with the names.

I see no need for this info to be released now as it is already out there for those looking. I just hope that the children can move on and away from the situation which has caused so much suffering to them and their their brother, although atleast now Peter has some sort of dignity being named.

I am going to stay away from the papers because I do not want nor need to read anymore than I already have and I certainly don't want to waste my time giving those animals (and I use that term loosely) the attention and publicity that they probably relish!

With regards to the grand parents, well the 'grandmother' has already appeared on Trisha regarding the case IIRC, how lovely of her .

In saying that maybe now it will ensure that A) they get what is coming to them in or out of prison I could'nt care less but it will come and
B) on release no other pooor child has to be exposed to them and their evil ways

stuffitlllama · 11/08/2009 03:28

this is a good article on why we should not look away

edam · 11/08/2009 10:09

Thing is, it's not just the names that have been released. Removing anonymity allows more facts about the case into the public domain. So we can have an informed debate and - hopefully - reduce the chances of this every happening again. Although that's what everyone has said/tried to do after every case, right back to poor Maria Caldwell in the 60s.

With any luck, the point about Lord Laming's previous involvement with the mother's family when she was a child will be picked up more forcefully. (He refused to investigate widespread child abuse in Islington children's homes back when he was an inspector. If he had done the very basics of his job then, maybe the cycle would have been broken.)

To date, all the info we've had about the family background is from one journalist who investigated the Islington scandal, back when the authorities were trying to hush it up - she fought for those in charge to take some responsibility but was ignored. When the vile boyfriend was convicted of the rape, she was only able to say the mother's cousin had been in care and abused as a child, was unable to say anything about the mother's childhood.

bleh · 11/08/2009 10:16

The article in the Times paints a rather terrifying picture of the boyfriend, history of torturing animals and his grandmother (!).

edam · 11/08/2009 10:28

It's hard to imagine quite how social workers managed to miss two other adults and one 15yo girl living in the house as well as Peter's mother. The 15yo herself should have been protected (Barker's brother's girlfriend) as well as Peter's siblings.

flatcapandpearls · 11/08/2009 11:13

My initial reaction was one of unease but I actually think releasing their names and details about their lives will make everyone realise that abuse in early life can have tragic effects not only for that person but also for their children and so on. I think we do like to pretend that families like this do not exist, but ignoring them is dangerous. Can you imagine what type of parent this child would have made in fifteen years time?

At the other end of the scale it should make us all reflect on just how important the job of a parent is.

tiredemma · 11/08/2009 12:16

Have only just seen Sky News with the mugshots of them.

My God- evil comes in some ugly forms doesn't it?

The news say that Connolly will get a 'stylist' and 'personal trainer' to help change her appearance. It take more than that to sort that beast out.

Horrible, evil people.

ilovesprouts · 11/08/2009 12:19

yes ive just seen that ,our justice system is one big joke, evil twats

Original poster
Nancy66 · 11/08/2009 12:32

i knew they would be real lowlife, underclass but I'm still shocked at how they lived and behaved. It's so feral.

Never mind that the SWs failed to notice the two men living there what about the absolute filth and squalor the child was living in? We're not talking about a messy house here - we're talking about rotting, maggot infested food on the floor, dog excrement, human excrement, fleas, mice...

Oh well, all been said before and the tragic thing is it WILL happen again.

OP posts:
bleh · 11/08/2009 12:32

That's the thing, the mother said that she was so happy to be in love and have a boyfriend, that having her baby being abused was a price she was willing to pay. Imagine being that desperate for love. Her mother was addicted to alcohol and drugs and her father convicted of sexually assaulting a girl. If the baby had survived, what sort of adult would he have grown into?