Mother of ‘Baby P’ Peter Connelly to be released after Parole Board decision

The mother of Peter Connelly, the child known as Baby P who died after months of abuse, will be freed from prison after the Parole Board rejected a government challenge against its ruling to release her.

Tracey Connelly could be out of jail within weeks after board judges refused an attempt by the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, to keep her in prison for longer.

Raab condemned the decision and said it was proof that the Parole Board needed a “fundamental overhaul”.

Now 40, Connelly was convicted at the Old Bailey in 2009 of causing or allowing the death of her 17-month-old son Peter at their home in Tottenham, north London, on 3 August 2007.

Following the board’s decision, Raab described Connelly’s actions as “pure evil” and said: “The decision to release her demonstrates why the Parole Board needs a fundamental overhaul – including a ministerial check for the most serious offenders – so that it serves and protects the public.”

Connelly was released on licence in 2013 but recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions. In March this year, the Parole Board, having rejected three previous bids, decided she was suitable for release.

Last month, Raab asked the board, which is independent of the government, to re-examine the decision under the so-called reconsideration mechanism. On Thursday, the Parole Board announced that the application had been rejected.

The board said in a statement: “Following the reconsideration application from the secretary of state, a judge has ruled that the decision made by independent Parole Board members to release was not irrational, as stated in the reconsideration application, and the original decision is upheld.”