Baby P lodger wins appeal

One of the trio behind bars over the death of Baby P has won an appeal against an order that he must serve an indefinite prison sentence.

Three judges in the Court of Appeal in London ruled that Jason Owen, 37, who was convicted of causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly, will have to serve a six-year jail term instead.

In May, an Old Bailey judge imposed an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection, with a minimum term of three years.

Mr Owen, of Bromley, Kent, who was a lodger at the London home where Peter died, could have applied for parole after the three years, but would only have been released when the parole board was satisfied he no longer posed a risk to the public.

His QC, Tim Roberts, argued that an indefinite term was "wrong in principle" as there was no evidence that he posed a significant risk of serious harm to others in the future - a six-year determinate jail sentence was the "appropriate sentence in the circumstances of this case".

Mr Owen was jailed along with Baby Peter's mother Tracey Connelly, 28, of Penshurst Road, Tottenham, north London, and her boyfriend Steven Barker, 33, for causing or allowing Peter's death. Mr Owen - who is Mr Barker's brother but changed his name - had been staying at Peter's home with his 15-year-old girlfriend.

Lord Justice Hughes, quashing the indeterminate sentence, said: "His present offence is deeply unpleasant because a completely innocent child who he could have protected was not protected by him against harm by others. He displays a willingness to deceive ...which is unattractive, but to translate that into a significant risk that he will himself in the future commit offences involving death or serious personal injury to the public is ... simply a step too far."