Baby P’s mother has written a letter to the judge to apologise for her shortcomings ahead of her sentencing expected today.

In it, the 27-year-old said she would never forgive herself and that not a day goes by without crying over the death of her 17-month-old son.

"I have lost all I hold dear to me. Now every day of my life is full of guilt," she wrote.

"I am trying to come to terms with my failure as a mother.

"I punish myself on a daily basis and there is not a day that goes by where I don't cry at some point."

The letter said she would "never forgive" herself for her "shortcomings".

She wrote: "I am truly sorry."

Her lawyer, Paul Mendelle QC, said in mitigation yesterday that she deserved credit for being the only defendant to admit any guilt or give evidence.

She pleaded guilty on the first day of trial, September 8, to causing or allowing her son’s death.

Her 32-year-old boyfriend, who is also from Tottenham, and lodger Jason Owen, of Bromley, south London, were found guilty of the same offence in November last year.

They were cleared of murder.

The 32-year-old was also found guilty of raping a two-year-old girl last month.

Bernard Richmond, defending him, said he would spend the rest of his life as a “marked” man, fearing for his safety.

A victim impact statement written by Baby P’s father and read out by Sally O’Neil, for the prosecution, said: “The week before his death, he spent the weekend at my house.

“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 him. He did not want to go with his mother to the place where he was subjected to harm and suffering.”

Baby P’s mother and her boyfriend — neither of whom can be named for legal reasons — and her lodger were expected to be sentenced today for their role in the toddler’s tragic death.