Peter Connelly was a little boy who died, aged 17 months, in 2007, because of the horrific abuse inflicted on him by those who were his carers. Accounts of his life and of the neglect and ill treatment that led to his death have been widely reported.

During the criminal trials of those who were to be found guilty of causing or allowing his death, the press and other media were not allowed to give Peter’s name, so he was called ‘Baby P’. ‘Baby P’, if not Peter Connelly, became a name widely recognised by the public across the UK and internationally. This is exceptional. Fifty to seventy children, although thankfully a small number (but still too many), die in the UK from abuse or neglect each year. The media may never report their deaths, or if they do report them, only very rarely do they receive any continuing coverage and comment. The deaths are briefly news, but then the media move on. But not so with the ‘Baby P story’.

One tabloid newspaper and its editor in particular, The Sun and Rebekah Brooks, turned the death of ‘Baby P’ into a campaign. The core of the campaign was not about more severe punishment for those who were involved and implicated in killing Peter. It was not about improving the child protection services and system in England. Instead, it was a campaign of vengeance and vilification directed at those who gave their professional lives to assisting and protecting children and who had sought to assist and protect Peter.

It was a campaign that was heavily targeted at social workers, their managers and the council where they were employed, with, for example, The Sun initiating a petition demanding the sacking of the social workers and their managers. Others who had roles in assisting and protecting children, such as those within the health services and the police, largely stayed on the margins of the story.

It was a campaign that had intense implications for those who were targeted, and also more generally for child protection services, and therefore for children and families, throughout England and beyond. Social workers, their managers and their own children were threatened and placed in danger.