Baby P's evil stepfather makes fresh freedom bid after horrifically torturing toddler, 1, to death

Baby P's evil stepfather is making a fresh bid for freedom and could be out of jail in months, the Mirror can reveal. Steven Barker, 48, has been referred to the Parole Board for a consideration to be released for the sixth time. It comes just weeks after what would have been the tragic tot's 20th birthday . Parole Board bosses made the referral in the last few days, meaning they will now analyse his case. Experts will assess his progress in prison, speak to officials and those he has been in contact with. They could then decide to release him, hold a hearing for further checks or rule to keep him in prison if they feel he is too dangerous. Barker was jailed for 12 years in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly in Tottenham, north London, in 2007. When Peter died, he had a broken back and ribs, and his fingernails had been torn out. Barker was also handed a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum term of 10 years after being convicted of the rape of a two-year-old at a separate trial. It was one of the most shocking crimes in recent British criminal history and considered a watershed moment in child cruelty cases as social services had frequent contact with the family before. One source said: "This referral has only just gone in and will be looked at extremely closely. Baby P's death shocked the nation. It was a horrific case. The idea Barker is being considered for parole again and could be released is disturbing." He was denied parole two years ago after it was found he continued to deny the rape he was involved in, or causing any harm to Peter. Barker has not taken part in any courses that might reduce his risk of violent and sexual reoffending, the Parole Board said, adding that he was “ambivalent” about treatment. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: "We can confirm the parole review of Steven Barker has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. "A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. "Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing. It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority." It come's as Barker's ex, Peter's mum Tracey Connelly, is set to reignite her freedom bid just months after she spoke publicly for the first time and admitted: "I was selfish." Connelly, 44, launched a fresh effort to be released in October last year but the case was adjourned as Parole Board chiefs poured over a dossier of evidence about her conduct in jail. After nearly five months officials say they we will reconvene later this month and hear evidence in public and private over two days in a bid to determine if Connelly still poses a risk to the public. Last year Connelly admitted she refused to accept Barker was abusing little Peter before he died in his blood-splattered cot in 2007. Admitting her "selfishness" led to the toddler's death, she said she was blinded by love, telling prison experts she "wanted a Prince Charming". Connelly appeared before a Parole Board panel to give her first public account of Peter's death, more than 18 years after he died from a catalogue of harrowing injuries. Refusing to appear on camera as she launched a bid to be freed, Connelly admitted that she still posed a risk to children in her care. And she told the hearing: "I was a bad mother. I failed to protect them. I put my needs first. I took all my anger out at the world on my children. I didn't give them what they needed and they deserved better than me." Connelly was jailed for at least five years in 2009 for causing or allowing Peter's death. Connelly had never publicly given details about her son's death, even refusing to give evidence at her trial. But as she made a fresh bid for freedom after twice being recalled to prison for breaching her licence, details of her offending were read to a Parole Board panel. She was said to have "felt anger towards her children, believing they were interfering in her relationship with her partner and they were a hindrance". Connelly finally admitted she refused to believe that little Peter was being abused by Barker. She told the hearing: "There was a lot more that I probably could have done to protect my children. If I had told the professionals that this man was living with me and explained that we were more than he was just visiting, there are 101 things I could have done. "I could have done more. I was in my own bubble where I wanted my Prince Charming and unfortunately my children paid for that." She added: "I was selfish. I wanted my happy ever after." When she was jailed, it was claimed Peter was left in his pushchair with chocolate spread over his face to cover up the bruises on his face. But Connelly denied that she had covered Peter's face in chocolate to hide his injuries. She said: "There was a suggestion where I covered [Peter's] face in chocolate. But I washed it off in front of a social worker and there were no bruises on his face." Referring to Barker added: "I knew deep down what was happening. I challenged him [Barker} once and he made me feel so small I didn't challenge him again. I didn't believe that I could be living with a man who was capable of this, rather than the truth. I wanted to prove everyone wrong." She added: "I kept [Barker] a secret, I was arguing that this couldn't happen." She openly admitted to slapping her children, and said: “I used to do it if they misbehaved. The reality is that it was more when I wasn’t coping. There’s no point trying to say they were naughty so I slapped them, it was easier for me to slap them rather than deal with it and try to explain like a proper mother would have done.” Connelly was released from prison in 2013 but recalled just two years later after selling nude pictures of herself online. Despite a backlash, Connelly was freed again in 2022 and she was made subject to 20 licence conditions. But at the Parole Board hearing last year it emerged she was recalled in August 2024 after striking up a secret 12-month relationship online with a man in which they exchanged sexually explicit messages. She said she hid her dark past from him before meeting him for sex, cinema and food. When the fling was exposed, she was thrown back in jail for failing to inform probation services about the relationship. Breaking down in tears, she said: "I hate my past, I have to live with it. How can I ask anyone to be OK with that?" She added: "There was a fear of rejection, if I told him who I was, anyone in their right mind would run a mile." She admitted she was "obsessed with sex", had an interest in BDSM fetishes and visited a sex club before her recall last year. She told panel members: "The sex is usually my way of dealing with things." Connelly revealed that after she was first released from prison in 2013, she dyed her hair blonde but it "looked like two marigolds on her head". In an effort to correct it, she used a red dye but her hair turned a shocking pink. She told the panel: "I was accused of doing it for notoriety but it was not for that reason." Connelly was also asked about her childhood during the hearing, to which she simply replied it was "torture". Admitting she was an occasional cannabis smoker, she said: "It was not a life experience I would wish on anyone." The hearing was told Connelly - who works as an orderly on the care and supervision unit in jail - is subject to "abuse and threats" in prison as she makes her way to work every day. One one occasion an inmate spat at her but she has never been attacked, it was said. Chair of the Parole Board panel Sally Allbeury revealed that baby Peter's family had written "extremely moving" statements. She said: "There can be no doubt that Peter's death has caused life-long harm to those who loved him and, as such, they too are victims of Ms Connelly's offending." Connelly told the panel she would still pose a risk to children in her care. Asked if she perceives herself as being a risk to children, Connelly said: "Children in my care? Yes. "Given how bad I was at it, I have to always accept that there is always a risk if I am left looking after children, which I can't see ever being the case. Am I a risk to children walking down the street? No." A two-day hearing is scheduled for May 20 and 21 where panel members will continue to assess Connelly's risk and whether to release her from prison or not, or recommend her to be transferred to open prison conditions.