i am a mother of 3 daughters and 2 beautiful grandsons one of whom is the same age as the little boy baby p i cannot imagine what that little boy went through it is beyond belief that this could happen in 2008 without anyone taking the time to help this little boy when he needed it most pray for him

j sommerville, cleland, scotland

OH MY GOD this is the first I have heard of this story. We as a race should be ashamed of ourselves. This will interup my thoughts and sleep for a long time. If there is a god I hope he has baby P with him. Rest his little soul.

Blue, Kalispell, Montana, US

Over the last 30 years, hundreds of children have been beaten, starved, burned, suffocated, poisoned, shaken, strangeled or stabbed to death by their parents.
'The level of child abuse killings in this country is a national disgrace'
QUOTE FROM MARY MARSH, DIRECTOR NSPCC.

karen, London, UK

Every single person who had the opportunity to save this child and didn't should never be forgiven. It is an utter disgrace. Rest peacefully baby, no-one can hurt you now.

Angela Baird, London, UK

Call it neglect or abuse - the things done to baby P are horrific.it takes little imagination to think what his life must have been like. Social workers should have removed him, & if they wouldn't then the police should have. Shoesmith - don't hide behind bureaucratic box-ticking. Resign ...

Polly, London, UK

The social workers involved in the supervision of this child should not only be fired, they should also be prosecuted for dereliction of duty, resulting in the horrendous torture and slaughter of an innocent.

Caroline, Port of Spain, Trinidad

i can not believe this has happenend, a poor innocent child has sufferd so much pain, it breaks my heart to think of someone so little and helpless being treated like that, a lot of peaple have got blood on their hands, i dont know how they can sleep at night. rest in peace darling

Claire, Plymouth, England

Those who have let this poor child down disgust me - there are no excuses that any of them can make to hide the blood on their hands. As for those accused, anyone convicted of willfully harming, torturing and murdering a child ought to face the death penalty - not be held at Her Majesties pleasure.

Ed Lane, Bath, Avon

the social workers involved in this should be fired. The mother, boyfriend and lodger should be locked up for life. May this poor baby rest in peace.

peter, london, England

peace at last for baby p, does the p stand for punched persecuted punished.thank god death came for this poor little mite and his pain was no more.why did not one so called professional come to his aid,where you all so blind and stupid.i hope you sleep well at night. i am sickened by you all.

a bradley, huntingdon, cambs

The quote in your front page article which said 'they believed (social services) that the baby was a case of neglect, not abuse' is a condemnation of social services and is systemic of the view shared by society. NEGLECT IS ABUSE as listed in The Children Act. Early intervention would save lives

John Sibley, Bristol, England

Social Service procedures should be radically changed to prevent further abuse and deaths of vulnerable infants. Random visits should be adopted and appointments made for parent(s) and child to attend for regualar monitoring after which any cancellations should be investigated immediately.

Mrs Joan Colden, HAVERHILL, Suffolk

I feel shaken to the core about this case. It's harrowing that people can have so little compassion and so much anger. We need an urgent shake up of our system; people should be trained to tune into their gut feeling and not take what is being said at face value

JC, manchester,

We await another Council frontman to announce that they cannot comment while the equirey is taking place. Then years later "the lessons have been learnt" " no desire to create scapegoats" etc etc and no action taken against any party ; most of whom would have moved on.

MAtt, Liverpool,

Absolutely Despicable! This story makes my stomach turn - there will be justice for the innocent at the Judgement Bar if nowhere else.

CCGT, Salt Lake City, USA

why exactly do they have to call the baby, baby p? how is it being protected by not revelling its name? is it a case of shutting the gate a few eons after the horse has bolted, gone wild, had baby horses, died and 17 generations of that horses foals have gone since?

will, grimsby, uk

A Review is, of course, necessary but I do hope that there have been suspensions already of those workers involved in this tragedy. With considerable respect to blind people, is it deemed a necessary qualification for the job of social worker
or policeman) to be blind?

Rodney S. Barker, Gainsborough, England UK

This is yet another sad tragedy but a generalised criticism of social workers is likely to lead to qualified social workers leaving the service, less people prepared to train to undertake this harrowing work. That wil lead to less capacity to safeguarding children in future.

Simon, Derbyshire,

Instead of trying to pretend that every adult is a probable abuser, and requiring to be police checked, they should do what they do in the more social cohesive countries where trust and common sense are valued and concentrate time and resources on adults who are properly suspicious.

Paul Sutton, Cambridgge,

For months I have been critical of all social workers and calling for reform of CSF, Cafarce and Cahms, as they do more harm then good on the Camilla Cavendish coloumn about family law. My critisiam pales into insignificance when you come across a case such as this,they are as guilty as the parents!

Dave Farmer, Broxbourne, England

Forget about social services, if they pry too much, we chastise them, If they are mislead we castigate them. They can’t win. Rather put the fear of god into the evil abusers, castrate the men and sterilise the women concerned.

gordon, leyburn , yorks

Deal it back, injury by injury to those responsible - they should experience what they've allowed to happen.

dave, cambs,

I read this morning about 50 children under the age of 10 are killed / murdered each year , where is the accountability for this, and why is nothing done to stop it happening.........

Gary Smith, York, UK

I am absolutely disgusted by this case !! 14 years ? thats pittance for what they have done they should be getting 40 years! cant believe that they crossed it as neglect and not abuse how can you not realise a childs back is broken ?? makes me weep!

Stephane Suddes, Newcastle , England

This is the saddest thing I have ever seen.

How can grown people behave in such a terrible way to a poor defensive little baby. I am deeply upset and I hope that they get the punishment they deserve.

Its appalling.

Lesley Barker, London, UK

The problem is chronic underinvestment in social services.

Social workers do an extremely difficult job and never receive any thanks or praise.On the one hand they are critisised for not doing enough, but when childeren are taken from parents they are over-zealous.

The system requires investment.

Daf, Nottingham,

i am so sad!

yuanyuan, haerbin, china

Optimism in the face of such cruelty is the trademark of these professionals. They will not relinquish their apple-pie notion of biological parenthood no matter what the consequences - not born by them but by those they are charged to protect. Adoptive parents are of course, just evil.

Angela, Epping, Australia

I have a 'right shower' of a family close by. Not only do they foster but child-mind, all with the blessing of the local Social Services office.Reporting things 'untoward' usually generate more interest in the caller rather than what they calling about. Sad but true.
Oxford

P.M., Oxford, UK

"Cannot be named for legal reasons" - what would they be then? and what is their purpose?

paul g, Havant, Hants

Why are the parents not named? It's certainly not top protect baby P.

bb, middlesbrough, england

I feel ill reading this..it's beyond words.

Ian Smith, Sotogrande, Spain

In our newborn baby rotations as student drs we are told that baby checks require the careful exam of the whole baby.In social work cases the risk of finding anything is much higher than in just-borns. SWs should be trained&allowed2do quick exams-not cleaning off chocolate shld be abs. unacceptable!

Lauren, London & Bristol,

Good to see the Government minister Balls and Hughes acting vigorously and decisively by giving Lord Laming the task of "preparing a report...."

Typical lack of action and never ending official procrastination.

Richard, Melbourne, Australia

Baby P is a victim of the hollow shell , the thin crust of deceptive 'decency' and the wordy proclamations of ' civility' that form a thin veneer over the crass reality of the sick, selfish, cruel and barbaric society which is Britain today. Manslaughterers 'protect' innocent babes in NuLAb hell ?

Terry, Guildford, UK

How bad do things have to get before people act on what they see and know to be horrific child abuse? I have never been so sickened as I am by this tale. The medics and social workers should also be sent to prison with the animals that murdered that poor little boy. There can be no more excuses.

Clare, Macclesfield, Cheshire

How is it that in this case (and presumably others) the social workers failed to do anything, but at the same time we hear of other cases in which over-zealous social workers take perfectly happy, healthy and loved children from innocent parents without having to justify their actions to anyone?

Ed, Melbourne, Australia

CB is correct!
In this country the victims of crime are mostly ignored. the perpetrators of crime are protected all through the system.
Not charged with the crime they deserve, offered legal aid, protected whilst in Prison, more emphasis on rehabilitation than punishment and then released early.

DH , Rossland, canada

This tragic incident is a shame on the Council for which as reported nobody has been disciplined. Why? What were the 60 visits for if not to protect a baby? Is the person or persons on those 60 visits not accountable? Where is the justice for the poor baby? What a waste of Council money.

George, London, UK

Jail the social workers with the parents - they may have a lot in in common with these cruel people. One does NOT need a 'legislative framework' to take full responsiblity for one's job, one only needs a conscience.

Ainsley Hayes, Sydney, Australia

If that had been done to an adult that would have been murder.

Bob, Kent, USSK

Child protection is nothing of the sort - it's ADULT protection.
The killers aren't named; the charges aren't for murder; the police, medics and social workers will not be disciplined for their lack of care for this poor child.

All are protected.

All but the child. How many more must die?

CB, Newcastle upon Tyne,