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Mother of Baby P admits she can be manipulative as bid for parole continues

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Ng, E. (2026, October 13). Mother of Baby P admits she can be manipulative as bid for parole continues. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/peter-baby-p-old-bailey-london-tottenham-b1300641.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-13 · by Ellie Ng

Quick Summary

Tracey Connelly appeared at a parole hearing last October where she admitted to being manipulative and deceptive during her time on license before being recalled to prison in August 2024 for breaching conditions. She expressed remorse for the lifelong pain caused to Peter’s family, whose statements were read aloud during the hearing. The case was adjourned after a psychological assessment and forensic examination of Connelly's mobile phone were requested, following her initial parole hearing last year.
Written by AI on 2026-10-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby P (known publicly), is set to face another parole hearing in prison on Tuesday. The last public hearings were held in October but adjourned after a year-long pause due to a need for further psychological assessment and forensic examination of her mobile phone use post-release in August 2024, when she violated license conditions by starting an online relationship without informing officials.

Connelly, now in her 40s, has acknowledged in previous hearings that she would pose a risk if left to care for children again. She admitted during the October hearings that she was manipulative and had deceived others but denied being skilled at deceit. Connelly expressed regret over the lifelong pain caused to her victims, stating she hated every minute of hearing about it.

Baby P (Peter) suffered more than 50 injuries despite being on an at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers, and health professionals over eight months before his death. Her ex-boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were also convicted for the same crime.

Written for “Baby P Parole Hearing” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Baby P Parole Hearing
Crime & Law · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 17 claims Outlet record 64/100
Global News
Hedges 2 of 41 claims Outlet record 63/100
“The articles describe different specific events involving separate incidents and individuals.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different individuals involved in separate incidents related to child abuse and neglect, not the same specific event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
2
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8127 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ellie Ng
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A firearm has been recovered, and a heightened police presence will remain in the area.
🔮 Even the smallest bit of information could make all the difference to this investigation.”
🔮 Even the smallest bit of information could make all the difference to this investigation.”
🔮 She was pictured smiling during the presentation ceremony as jockey William Buick received his trophy for the win.
🔮 Dr Cassius Morrison, the lead author of the paper documenting the finding, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said: “It was not the apex predator of its time, but for humans this dinosaur would have been more dangerous than a T rex.
🔮 Tracey Connelly, now in her 40s, also told her parole hearing that she “hated every minute” of hearing about the “lifelong” pain and suffering of her victims, and that she would have pleaded guilty to historical neglect of her children if charges had been brought against her.
🔮 Asked whether she would accept descriptions of her as manipulative and opportunistic as she gave evidence on Tuesday, Connelly said: “The terminology is not nice.
🔮 He wrote an article about Sir Ranulph in the Telegraph last month, and said he sought to highlight the probability that there are many other vulnerable people, who are not famous, who may find themselves similarly isolated. “We’ve got an ageing population.
🔮 He could be seen slashing and stabbing the small boat after a member of a rescue crew had boarded to apparently take the vessel back to France.
🔮 And I think it’s natural that people so in the public eye are concerned how they will come across in the book.
Also by Ellie Ng
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Ellie Ng →

Topics

the Parole Board

Subjects

Connelly PERSON · 11× Peter PERSON · 4× Baby P PERSON · 1× Dominic Raab PERSON · 1× Jason Owen PERSON · 1× Steven Barker PERSON · 1× Tracey Connelly PERSON · 1× the Parole Board ORG · 1×

Narrative

Read More Public parole hearings took place for Connelly last October, but the case was adjourned for almost a year after the panel decided there needed to be a further psychological assessment and a forensic examination of the mobile phone Connelly used in the community before her recall in August 2024 for breaching licence conditions.
framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 Asked whether she would accept descriptions of her as manipulative and opportunistic as she gave evidence on Tuesday, Connelly said: “The terminology is not nice.
2026-10-13 · Evening Standard
Mother of Baby P admits she can be manipulative as bid for parole continues · assertive framing
2026-10-13 · Evening Standard
Mother of Baby P admits she can be manipulative as bid for parole continues · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 0 hedged)

Tracey Connelly, now in her 40s, also told her parole hearing that she “hated every minute” of hearing about the “lifelong” pain and suffering of her victims. asserted
she → tell → victims
Her then-boyfriend, Steven Barker, and his brother, Jason Owen, were convicted of the same crime. asserted
boyfriend → convict → crime
Known publicly as Baby P, Peter had suffered more than 50 injuries, despite being on the at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, police officers and health professionals over eight months. asserted
Peter → know → months
Read More Public parole hearings took place for Connelly last October, but the case was adjourned for almost a year after the panel decided there needed to be a further psychological assessment and a forensic examination of the mobile phone Connelly used in the community before her recall in August 2024 for breaching licence conditions. asserted
Connelly → read → conditions
Asked whether she would accept descriptions of her as manipulative and opportunistic as she gave evidence on Tuesday, Connelly said: “The terminology is not nice. asserted
terminology → ask → Tuesday
“As much as I would like to say no, I have lied, I have deceived, so I have to accept that is fair.” asserted
that → like → ?
She denied being skilful at deceit, saying: “I don’t necessarily think I’m that skilful because their risk management plan has worked – they found out I was doing wrong and they called me back for it. asserted
they → deny → it
I’m back in prison. asserted
I → ’m → prison
“I just think I make mistakes and I kind of get myself into this loop and I suddenly struggle to get out of it.” asserted
I → think → it
Earlier, the panel heard private statements read on behalf of members of Peter’s family – who are “statutory victims” – about the ongoing impact of his death and their concerns about Connelly’s potential release. asserted
who → hear → release
Asked how it felt hearing those statements, Connelly told the parole hearing: “I hated every minute of it because I know that their pain and their suffering is on me. asserted
pain → ask → me
“I made decisions and choices that led to every moment of their pain and suffering and I can never apologise for that. asserted
I → make → that
“I understand that my impact on them has been lifelong.” asserted
impact → understand → them
Members of Peter’s family requested that certain conditions be put in place to protect them if Connelly’s release is granted, the panel said. asserted
panel → request → them
Parole hearings are usually held in private, but a judge previously approved applications for Connelly’s review to be heard in public, concluding “there can be no doubt that there is a substantial public interest” in the case. asserted
review → hold → case
A series of reviews identified missed opportunities for officials to save Peter’s life had they reacted properly to warning signs. asserted
they → identify → signs
Connelly had admitted the offence of causing or allowing the death of her son and was handed a sentence of imprisonment for public protection with a minimum term of five years. asserted
Connelly → admit → years
Connelly left prison in July 2022 after the Parole Board ruled she was suitable for release in March that year – after hearing she was considered to be at “low risk of committing a further offence” and that probation officers and prison officials supported the plan. asserted
officers → leave → plan
This was despite the panel highlighting concerns over Connelly’s ability to manipulate and deceive, and hearing evidence of how she had become embroiled in prison romances and traded secret love letters with an inmate. asserted
she → highlight → inmate
Then-justice secretary Dominic Raab appealed against the decision, but a judge rejected his bid to keep her behind bars. asserted
judge → appeal → bars
She had previously been released on licence in 2013 but was recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions. asserted
She → release → conditions
Officials rejected three previous bids in 2015, 2017 and 2019 for Connelly to be released. asserted
Connelly → reject → 2015
The hearing continues. asserted
hearing → continue → ?
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