Baby P mum’s £14k legal aid for bid to see her other kids Fury at taxpayer bill as victims miss out
Trump’s Russia sanctions over Salisbury
DONALD Trump has finally imposed fresh sanctions on Russia for the Salisbury poisonings because Vladimir Putin would not promise an end to attacks.
Nine months after the measures should have been introduced, the US President caved in to pressure from BABY P’s vile mother Tracey Connelly received £14,000 in legal aid as she fought for the right to see her three teenage daughters.
The money funded hearings for Connelly – who let her 17-month-old son be tortured to death – to plead for access to her other children.
The cost to taxpayers has been slammed, especially with the legal aid system being so stretched.
Victims’ rights campaigner Harry Fletcher is appalled Connelly got the funds while victims of the London Bridge and Manchester Arena terror attacks did not.
He said: “Time and time again perpetrators are given legal aid often for quite spurious reasons yet victims are denied the same equality and have to raise the money themselves.
“This is clearly wrong and must be addressed by politicians.”
It was ruled in December that Connelly, 38, was allowed to write to her girls. She is Congress by signing an executive order on Friday banning American banks from providing loans to Russia.
It came a day after Trump and President Putin discussed the issue.
Two Congressmen wrote to Trump last week saying he could only avoid new sanctions if he could “certify in writing Russia is no longer using chembarred from seeing them. Figures revealed via a Freedom of Information request show she has received £14,194.01 from the Legal Aid Agency since being jailed in 2009.
In 2012 and 2013 she got £1,481.08 for help with child access hearings.
She was freed on licence in 2013, but was jailed again in 2015 for selling indecent photos of herself. Then in 2016 she got £12,422.53 for Special Children’s Act hearings. Just over £290 of her legal aid was for advice on prison law. The Legal Aid Agency said: “Removing a child from a parent is very serious, that’s why legal aid is available to anyone facing this possibility.”
Connelly hopes to be freed from jail, with a Parole Board hearing set for this year. It is understood she will get further legal aid for this bid. Baby Peter died in 2007 after suffering more than 50 injuries at his home in Haringey, North London.
Connelly let her partner Steven Barker and his paedo brother Jason Owen torture the boy. Connelly was jailed indefinitely, Barker for 12 years and Owen for six. ical weapons [and] has provided reliable assurances it will not in future engage in any such activities”. But he could not provide those assurances.
Russian dissidents in Britain say Trump delayed sanctions as he did not want to upset Putin. Ex-KGB major Boris Karpichkov said some in the White House “operate in Russia’s interests”.