Analysis: MPs feeling ashamed of themselves | Tragic life of Baby P | Commentary: Lord Laming | Comment: Theodore Dalrymple | 17 months of cruelty | Video: another Haringey scandal | Alpha Mummy: Untangling the emotional response to Baby P

David Cameron and Gordon Brown were accused of playing party politics with the fate of a small child today after a Commons confrontation over the case of Baby P, the 17-month-old who died after care professionals failed to spot he was being abused.

The parliamentary row over the boy broke out after Mr Cameron said it was unacceptable that the London council responsible for Baby P’s care should have control of the review in the scandal.

When the Tory leader demanded that the Government take over the council's social services department, the Prime Minister replied that he regretted Mr Cameron "making a party political issue of this".

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MPs are feeling pretty ashamed of themselves at the moment

Philip Webster, Political Editor

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• Baby P row: shameful display by MPs on all sides

• Full text: Commons confrontation over Baby P

• Review ordered after tragic life of Baby P

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• AlphaMummy - untangling the responses

Conservative MPs reacted furiously, shouting "cheap" and "shameful" at Mr Brown as Michael Martin, the Speaker, repeatedly intervened, appealing for both sides to be quiet.

Mr Cameron demanded repeatedly that the Prime Minister withdraw the statement, having asked what he said were "perfectly reasonable" questions about the case, with Mr Martin constantly struggling to restore order amid noise from baying backbenchers.

The conduct of both leaders was criticised as undignified by MPs this afternoon, just one day after convictions at the Old Bailey of Baby P's mother, her boyfriend and a lodger of causing or allowing the child's death.

The trio were found to have duped social services workers into believing that a series of brutal injuries suffered by the baby were accidental.

Ministers have asked Lord Laming, who also chaired the inquiry into Victoria Climbié’s death, to investigate whether social workers across the country are carrying out his recommendations for protecting vulnerable children.

Mr Cameron's complaint was not with the Laming review, but with another inquiry – carried out internally by Haringey and handed to ministers this morning. The Tory leader said this was inadequate and its conclusions worthless.

"Do you agree with me that the Haringey inquiry is completely unacceptable? It is being led by Mrs Shoesmith, who is the council’s own director of children’s services. Do you agree with me she cannot possibly investigate the failure of her own department?" he said.

Mr Brown replied that people were "not only shocked and saddened but horrified and angered" by the case. The Prime Minister reiterated the terms of the two inquiries, which he said would get to the bottom of the problem.

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