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Haringey council
Haringey council was criticised after the death of Baby P in 2007. Photograph: Katie Collins/PA
Haringey council was criticised after the death of Baby P in 2007. Photograph: Katie Collins/PA

Baby in foster care is left on bus

This article is more than 11 years old
Investigation is launched after woman contacts police saying infant has been left on bus in Haringey, north London

A London borough council – which came under intense scrutiny after the death of Baby P – is to be investigated after an infant in foster care was left on a bus.

A woman identifying herself as the foster carer contacted police after it was realised that the child had been left on the 491 bus in north London, Scotland Yard confirmed.

Investigations have been launched by its child abuse investigation unit and Haringey council, which was criticised over its handling of the care of the toddler Peter Connelly, who died at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and his brother. The child was well-known to social services and had suffered more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, during which he was repeatedly seen by Haringey children's services and NHS health professionals.

Police were called just after 2pm on Friday to Bull Lane, Enfield, near North Middlesex hospital after the foster child was reported missing.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A woman, who identified herself as the child's foster carer, contacted emergency services. The child was checked at hospital before being handed back to the care of social services."

No one has been arrested in relation to the incident, he said. "Inquiries are ongoing. There have been no arrests. Social services are investigating the matter in partnership with the MPS [Metropolitan police service] child abuse investigation command."

Haringey council was severely criticised after the death of Baby P, who was 17 months old when he was found dead at a property in Penshurst Road, Tottenham, in August 2007. He suffered injuries including fractured ribs and a broken back while in the care of his mother Tracey Connelly, her partner Steven Barker, and later his brother Jason Owen.

In May 2009, Connelly and Barker were given minimum terms of five and 12 years for causing or allowing the death of Peter. Owen was also found guilty of the same charge. The child's full name was released after the end of a separate court case, during which Barker was also given a life sentence for raping a two-year-old girl.

A series of reviews into the child's death identified several missed opportunities when officials could have saved him if they had acted properly on the warning signs. Connelly was arrested a number of times and the child was seen at St Ann's hospital in north London days before he died by the locum paediatrician Dr Sabah al-Zayyat on 1 August 2007, who did not find any indication that he had fractured ribs or a broken back.

More on this story

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  • Gay foster carers: 'I love every minute of it'

  • Camila Batmanghelidjh: 'I chose the vocation'

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