Shamed Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith's ex-husband is caught with a haul of child porn - as she prepares to cash in on the tragic toddler's death with a tell-all book
- Sharon Shoesmith was the boss of Haringey Council when Baby P died
- Ex-husband Geoffrey got 16-month suspended sentence for child porn
- Comes as she is accused of trying to 'cash in' on scandal with new book
The ex-husband of shamed Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith was convicted after being caught with a haul of child porn.
Geoffrey Shoesmith, 67, was given a suspended 16-month jail term after he admitted making and possessing indecent images of children.
It comes as Ms Shoesmith plans to cash in on the scandal that got her sacked from her role with Haringey Council, launching a book called Learning From Baby P.
Baby P, real name Peter Connelly, died in Haringey, north London, in 2007 after suffering more than 50 injuries.
Geoffrey Shoesmith, the ex-husband of shamed Baby P boss Sharon Shoesmith (right) was convicted after being caught with a haul of child porn
He was just 17 months old when he was killed by Steven Barker, the partner of Baby P's mother, and his paedophile brother Jason Owen.
The case provoked a national scandal after it emerged that social workers, police and doctors missed a series of warning signs that could have saved the child's life during the eight-month period of abuse.
Ms Shoesmith, the former boss of Haringey Children’s Services department, was eventually sacked in 2008 after refusing to step down over the scandal.
It is thought that she was married to Geoffrey for 25 years but that the two split before she was sacked in December 2008.
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The offences are thought to have taken place between October 2008 and August 2014, after the pair split and there is no suggestion Ms Shoesmith knew about his offending.
Today, a relative of the child told The Sun: 'Geoffrey Shoesmith’s conviction is ironic given her role at Haringey was meant to be to protect kids.
'The family is already very angry about her book.
'What gives her the right, given how Haringey failed Peter, to write about it and make money?'
Baby P, real name Peter Connelly, died in Haringey, north London, in 2007 after suffering more than 50 injuries
In the aftermath of Baby P's death, his mother, Tracey Connelly, her boyfriend, Steven Barker, and their lodger, Jason Owen, were all jailed.
But it later emerged that Baby P had seen a number of social workers, police and health workers before he died, but all had failed to place the toddler into care.
A serious case review that investigated the conduct of social workers, GPs and police involved in the case found: ‘The practice of the majority, individually and collectively... was incompetent,’ and his death ‘could have been prevented’.
Ms Shoesmith, 63, has never publicly apologised for the toddler's death, despite a damning report that exposed deep failings in Mrs Shoesmith's department.
She even claimed previously that she was herself a 'victim' of the Baby P scandal, because she had not managed to find a job since 2008.
Last year, she received a £680,000 payout from Haringey Council after winning an unfair dismissal case over her sacking by then children's minister Ed Balls.
He was just 17 months old when he was killed by Steven Barker (left), the partner of Baby P's mother, and his paedophile brother Jason Owen (right)
Piers Morgan (centre) said many people would find it 'distasteful' that she was making money from sales of a book about the case
Now she has been accused of cashing in on the tragic death by releasing a book on Saturday and even appeared on Good Morning Britain to promote it.
The book, Learning From Baby P, written after the former council boss - who now calls herself Dr Shoesmith after finishing a PhD - was part of her ‘academic’ work, she said.
‘My book contributes to knowledge about this whole issue of child homicide,’ she told the programme, ‘it’s more of an academic book.’
But former newspaper editor Piers Morgan said: ‘You are basically profiting from talking about the death of Baby P among other stories.
‘Many might find it distasteful that the head of the social services department on whose watch Baby P died is making money from a book.’
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