Female inmates have been dismayed to witness the mother of Baby P, Tracey Connelly, laughing, joking and bossing them around, during a prison reading group.
Yet one former prisoner, who served time with Connelly, in a North East prison, believes she is untouchable.
When Connelly's son Peter, referred to as Baby P, died after suffering 50 agonising injuries at his home in North London, it was deemed one of the UK's most horrific child cruelty cases.
The woman was given an indefinite sentence for causing or allowing the 17-month-old's death, but is now preparing to be released.
The news prompted national outcry last week, after the Parole Boar cleared Connelly for release, meaning she'll soon be back on the streets.
Connelly has reportedly requested extra protection in prison, amid worries that her inmates will try to attack her before her release.
But according to one woman from Newcastle, who spent time with Connelly at HMP Low Newton in Durham City, this is just an excuse to help her secure a new identity after she is freed.
Julie McAllister said despite being disgusted by Connelly's crime and her prison behaviour, no other inmates would ever be able to get close enough to attack her.
The 44-year-old admitted she struggled to control her anger whilst watching Connelly laugh and joke during a prison reading group.
Julie, from Kenton told the Chronicle Live : "It's absolute rubbish that people would try to attack her. No one would get a chance. She's a very manipulative woman. There's no chance of anybody being able to get to her. She's very manipulative, and that's what she's doing now."
Connelly reportedly had become fearful for her safety, as her Parole hearing generated new publicity about her wicked crime.
A source said: “Tracey Connelly is paranoid that she will be attacked in the wake of the Parole Board’s decision.
“The publicity around her parole has provoked renewed anger towards her in the prison. She is a marked woman again after keeping her head down for years. Tracey believes she will be knifed and is almost afraid to venture out of her cell.”
But Julie, who has served several sentences at HMP Low Newton, says Connelly and other women convicted of serious crimes against children are kept segregated in a different ring from other inmates.
She added that it's a continuous source of frustration that the most evil prisoners are housed in the best conditions.
"You never even see them," she said. "She's in F-Wing, it's self-contained flats. They are all in for murders or harming children. One left her baby to die.
"People talk about them, but no one can get near them. They get the best conditions, but they have committed the worst crimes. They have their own flats with showers and carpets. If you kill kids you are laughing it seems."
Two weeks ago, Julie, who once punched serial child killer Rose West in the face in the prison's dining hall, was released from her most recent sentence at Low Newton.
When previously in prison, she came face-to-face with Connelly when they both participated in a prison's reading group.
She recalls how she and other inmates watched in anger as controlling Connelly laughed and joked and shouted orders at others.
"She's an evil woman. I'm a mam myself and to think of what she's done is horrific," said Julie. "I have seen how she manipulates people. I signed-up for a reading group and she decided to come. She's fat with thick hair, she's very very loud and very manipulative.
"She was dictating to other prisoners. She would just look at a book and say 'get me that book'. She was treating people like puppets.
"She was laughing her head off and I just thought; 'How can you have done something like that to a baby and be laughing?'
"If I had ever hurt a baby I wouldn't be able to laugh for the rest of my life. Seeing her laughing just made me mad. I had to stop myself from jumping over the table."
"But you have to be nice to her in prison because you don't want to lose your privileges."
The missed opportunities surrounding Baby P's death outraged the nation, and despite 60 visits, social workers never tried to remove Peter from his mother's care.
Connelly was convicted of causing or allowing the death of Peter in 2009 and handed an indefinite prison sentence with a minimum of five years.
She was released in 2013, but recalled to jail in 2015 after breaching the terms of her licence by selling naked pictures of herself.
Connelly’s parole hearing – her fourth since being recalled to prison – took place on March 15 and 16 via video.
The Parole Board approved her release and it is thought she will be freed in the coming weeks.
A report on the parole hearing said: “At the time of her offending, risk factors had included Ms Connelly not managing certain aspects of her personality, entering into relationships quickly, prioritising those relationships above anything else, thinking about sex a lot and using sex to help her feel better about herself.
“The panel also considered risk factors to include Ms Connelly’s inability to control extreme emotions, her way of life, her decision making, her low self-esteem, manipulative behaviour, dishonesty, a lack of victim empathy and her difficulties in coping with feelings of anger.”
The report concluded: “After considering the circumstances of her offending and time on licence, progress made in custody, evidence presented at the hearing and the recommendations of witnesses, the panel was satisfied Ms Connelly was suitable for release."
Connelly's partner Steven Barker, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing Baby P's death, is still serving a life term.
His brother, Jason Owen got a minimum three years but returned to jail briefly in 2013 after a parole breach. He is believed to be living under a new identity.
