HARINGEY COUNCIL has denied claims that police and a social worker wanting a foster care arrangement were overruled by the authority in favour of returning Baby P to his mother seven months before he died.
The BBC's Panorama programme reported last night that senior social worker Sylvia Henry had found a foster family for the child after doctors had treated him for non-accidental injuries in December 2006. Ms Henry had been "very reluctant" about an alternative plan to place the child in the care of Angela Godfrey, a friend of the child's mother. The mother is awaiting sentence along with her boyfriend and a former lodger for causing or allowing the child's death.
In a witness statement seen by the programme Ms Henry revealed that Ms Godfrey had asked for "a large sum of money, possibly £320 per week" to look after the child, while pressing for his return to his mother.
"My impression of Angela was that she believed the local authority were overreacting and that the explanation for Baby P's injuries were those of his mother, that they were caused by rough play and by his head-banging," Ms Henry told police.
According to the programme the police also supported Ms Henry's view that the child should remain "out of the care of his mother" after they opened an investigation into the alleged abuse. According to Panorama, with no new evidence to support a prosecution, Clive Preece, head of Haringey's Children in Need and Safeguarding Service, instructed that the baby be returned to his mother.
A confidential police report referred to a "frank exchange of views" between the agencies involved in decisions about the child. But in a statement Haringey said: "We would expect a rigorous discussion between professionals when discussing child protection."
However, the council insisted: "The outcome of the discussion referred to was that the police agreed with the way forward. We wanted the police investigation to proceed as quickly as possible."
The council maintained the police had never expressed the view, quoted in the programme, that Children's Services were too "parent-focused". Specifically, Haringey also denied that Mr Preece had overruled social workers, while maintaining that "no concerns" had been raised about the original plan to place the baby with Ms Godfrey at the time of the placement.
While the police report quoted contained criticism of social workers for being too optimistic about Baby P's mother and not focused sufficiently on the child, Haringey said such views were not expressed at the time and some had been formed "with the benefit of hindsight".