Baby Peter: Leader of the Council's apology

Leader of the Council Statement on Baby Peter

Cabinet

18 November 2008

I want as Leader of the Council to make this formal apology on behalf of Haringey Council at this first meeting of the Cabinet. I will do so again to the meeting of the full Council next week. These are the right places for Haringey to formally acknowledge our deep sorrow for these tragic events.

Let me begin by making clear that we are very sorry for the events which led up to the death of Baby Peter sorry for the suffering he endured; sorry for the failure of all the child protection agencies involved to protect him, to save his life.

Haringey Council’s apology is heartfelt and unreserved.

It is made to all those who knew and cared for the well being of Baby Peter; it is made to all those residents of Haringey who feel let down by the actions of the child protection agencies in our area and concerned for the future of every other child at risk; and it is made to the wider public who will have listened with horror at the dreadful damage done during the tragically short life of Baby Peter.

We are truly sorry.

We await the outcome of the review; we will not comment in detail on the case until then; we will take whatever action is necessary to improve the protection of vulnerable children in Haringey.

Let me conclude by saying this: in the fifteen months since Baby Peter died Haringey’s social workers have continued to do their best, often in very difficult circumstances, to protect vulnerable children in our community. Despite the pressure of the last few months and weeks, they continue to put the interests of those children first. Whilst it is right for the review to identify faults and failures, it is important, in all the millions of words reported on the Baby Peter case, to recognise that denigrating their service does nothing to improve child protection.

Colleagues, there is no failure to apologise in full by this council – we do so unreservedly tonight as we did last week.

There is no failure to recognise our accountability – we do so and await the report of the review.

There has however, been failure: by all the agencies involved to protect this little child from the pain and suffering which led to his death; and for that we are truly and genuinely sorry.

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