The stepfather of tortured toddler Baby P is making a fresh bid for freedom and could be out of jail in months.

Steven Barker, 48, has been referred to the Parole Board for a consideration to be released for the sixth time. 

It comes just six weeks after what would have been Peter Connelly's 20th birthday. 

Barker was imprisoned in 2009 for causing or allowing the death of the 17-month-old in Tottenham, north London, August 3, 2007.

He sought - alongside his lover Tracey Connelly and brother Jason Owen - to cover up the injuries inflicted on the youngster.

Little Peter suffered more than 50 wounds over an eight-month period. 

These included a broken back, broken ribs, mutilated fingertips, and missing fingernails. 

Parole Board bosses made the referral in the last few days, they will assess his progression in prison and speak to officials he has been in touch with. 

The Parole Board could either decide to release him, hold a hearing for further checks or to keep him in prison. 

One source told The Mirror: '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.'

Barker was also given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 10 years after being convicted of the rape of Baby P at a separate trial. 

He was denied parole 2 years ago because he continued to refute the rape and claim he didn't cause any harm to Peter. 

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 comes after Peter's mother Tracey Connelly is set to restart her bid for freedom after speaking publicly for the first time last year. 

In October last year she had her first review since her second recall to prison in August 2024. 

The case was adjourned but officials say it will reconvene later this month to determine if she still poses a risk to the public. 

Tracey Connelly was initially released in 2013 but was later recalled to prison in 2015 for breaching her parole conditions.

She was released again in July 2022 after the parole board had rejected three previous bids in 2015, 2017 and 2019. 

It was heard she was considered to be at 'low risk of committing a further offence' and that probation officers and prison officials supported the plan.

But after being called back to prison again in August last year - over breached licence conditions - Connelly will now face a review.

The Parole Board received two applications for October's review to be held in public, which described Connelly's 'landmark case' as 'one of the most high-profile and devastating child protection failures in UK history' that 'permanently altered the conversation around safeguarding', according to Judge Peter Rook KC's judgment.

It was argued the public still does not have access to the 'real details', citing that previous decisions around parole and recall have been made in private and a public hearing would 'provide crucial context to a case that remains deeply significant to the public'.

A lawyer for Connelly argued against the hearing being made public, saying it poses a risk to her safety and that there is a 'high risk' her identity will be compromised as 'threats to her safety are real and current'.

The legal representative also said Connelly has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression, and that a public hearing will 'exacerbate' these issues and have a 'significant and detrimental effect' on her evidence at the parole hearing.

But Judge Rook, on behalf of the chair of the Parole Board, said the lawyer acknowledged Connelly 'recovers well from these events'.

According to his judgment, Connelly experienced 'offence-related bullying and aggression' after her recall to prison which 'led to a decline in her mental health' but the judge said she reportedly responded well, without resorting to violence, and has now 'stabilised'.

Granting the application for October's hearing to be held in public, the judge said: 'There can be no doubt that there is a substantial public interest in this case.

'There is a strong public interest in the extent that Ms Connelly currently presents a risk and, if so, what measures are proposed in order to manage it.' 

Permission for Connelly to leave prison in 2022 came despite the Parole Board panel highlighting concerns over her ability to manipulate and deceive, and hearing evidence of how she had become embroiled in prison romances and traded secret love letters with an inmate.

Then-justice secretary Dominic Raab appealed against the decision, but a judge rejected his bid to keep her behind bars. Condemning the move, Mr Raab said at the time this was proof the parole system needs a 'fundamental overhaul'.

When Connelly was first released, she was made subject to 20 licence conditions, including having to wear an electronic tag and disclose all her relationships, having her internet use monitored or obeying curfew.

She was also banned from going to certain places to 'avoid contact with victims and to protect children'.

The Parole Board said that she had been cleared due to a low risk of reoffending and that probation officers and prison officials supported the plan.

It will now be a matter for the Board to decide if the latest breach of her conditions was so serious that she should not be released.