Baby P mother 'full of guilt'
- 00:02:21
- ITN
Baby P mother 'full of guilt'
The mother of Baby Peter has said that she will never forgive herself for her son's death. It comes as she faces sentencing with her ex-boyfriend and former lodger over the little boy's death. Her ex-boyfriend is also being sentenced for raping a toddler. In a letter read out in court in the two-day hearing, she said she was truly sorry she had failed her son. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sat ashen-faced in the dock as her barrister read her words. The letter said: "I accept I failed Peter. By not being fully open with social services I stopped them from being able to do a full job. "As a direct result of this, my son got hurt and sadly lost his short life. I am never going to see my lovely son grow into the lovely, sweet man he would have been. "I have lost all I hold dear to me. Now every day of my life is full of guilt. I am trying to come to terms with my failure as a mother. "I punish myself on a daily basis and there is not a day that goes by that I don't cry at some point." The father, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke of his own terror in a victim statement read out to the Old Bailey. It said: "I continue to feel angry about what happened to Peter. I can only describe it as total devastation and all-consuming pain." Five months after Baby Peter's birth, the father's marriage to the child's mother broke down and he had to move out of the family home. The last time he saw his son was the weekend before his death, the court was told. The father recalled Peter did not want to leave him when he took him back to his mother. He said: "When I returned him, I remember him screaming and shouting, 'daddy, daddy', so much so that (his mother) brought him back and I cuddled him. "I have to live with the knowledge that Peter was actually screaming for help. He did not want to go home as this was a place he associated with pain and suffering." Baby Peter's mother, 27, her boyfriend, 32, and their lodger Jason Owen, 37, have all been convicted of causing or allowing the little boy's death and are being sentenced in a two-day hearing. Baby Peter's mother pleaded guilty to the offence and could be entitled to up to a third off her sentence. The term will also be reduced by the 21 months she has already spent in custody. Her boyfriend, who Peter called "dad", is facing a life sentence after also being convicted on May 1 of raping a toddler. The child, like Peter, had been on the child protection register maintained by Haringey Council in north London. The girl, now four, became the youngest person to give evidence at the court when she was exposed to cross-examination from defence counsel. Peter was found dead in his blood-spattered cot with a broken back and fractured ribs. He had 50 injuries - despite having 60 contacts with health and social workers over the final eight months of his life.
ITN | May 21, 2009
