DISGRACED Haringey Council could be forced to pay more than £1 million in compensation to Baby Peter’s father over its botched handling of the case.

Peter’s anguished father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has taken early retirement since his son’s death in August 2007 because of grief.

He plans to sue on the grounds that council staff failed to spot the danger his 17-month-old son was in.

Social workers and other professionals had contact with Peter, whose surname is now known to be Connelly, more than 60 times in the last eight months of his life.

Mike Ellis, chairman of the National Society for Children and Family Contact, said the father “could have a battle on his hands” despite the father’s claim he had tipped off social workers that he suspected there was a man heavily involved in Peter’s life.

Mr Ellis said: “If he had parental responsibility, this law suit could raise questions about his own actions.

“If he was unable to have access because of obstruction from the mother, he had the option to go through the courts.

“I am sure that he must feel some responsibility that he could have done more.”

In a victim impact statement, the father told how he was haunted by the moment he had last seen Peter alive after the toddler spent the night at his house before handing him over to his estranged wife.

He said: “As I said goodbye, I remember him screaming and shouting so much that his mother brought him back so I could give him another cuddle.

“Looking back, he must have been pleading with me to help.”

In court, the father told jurors that he had held no concerns over Connelly’s parenting skills calling her a “good mum but a lazy houswife”.

But animosity between the father and Connelly’s new love meant he was no longer welcome at the home and had limited contact with Peter, though he did provide financial support.

In court, the father said that even up until Peter’s death on August 3, 2007, he did not believe Connelly was capable of hurting her child and believed her excuse that it was cot death.

Tottenham MP David Lammy said: "I can understand his sense of anger and loss, however, I am not going to comment on the details or merits of any legal case before it is heard."

He added: "The release of these images, and the information on the killers' backgrounds - provides a dreadful window into the dysfunctional lives of the people who should have been caring for Baby Peter.

“Their patterns of behaviour and brutality are chilling, and reinforce the need to ensure that they serve long sentences. These are terrible individuals, who I have no wish to see walking the streets of Haringey anytime soon.”

Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: "The detail of the depravity of these people in terms of how they lived really underlines the failure of Haringey and the other agencies. This was way beyond what most people will comprehend.

"It just underlines the failure of the services that are there to protect a child. They failed monumentally. It reminded me how much work there is still to do."