The former director of children’s services at Kent County Council is to head a fresh review of the investigation into the treatment of Baby P following a devastating report into the affair.

Graham Badman, who formally retired from his role with KCC last week, has been been asked by children’s secretary Ed Balls to take over as the chairman of Haringey’s Local Safeguarding Children’s Board.

He is to begin a new Serious Case Review into the death of the 17-month-old baby boy following damning criticism of the original review that had been carried out by Haringey’s children’s services chief Sharon Shoesmith.

Mr Balls said: "I have asked him immediately to begin a new Serious Case Review into the death of Baby P. He will submit the new Serious Case Review to Ofsted by the end of February for evaluation.

"And he will publish the executive summary of the new Serious Case Review, which must provide a comprehensive and fair summary of the full Serious Case Review, by the end of March."

The announcement was one of several made by Mr Balls after the publication of a report into the circumstances surrounding Baby P’s death.

He died after receiving sustained abuse at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger in Haringey, north London, in August.