Woman who tried to sell her baby is jailed for 7 years

A woman has been jailed for seven years for trying to sell her baby for £35,000, court officials said.

The 29-year-old, of north east London, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was preparing to make the sale of her 11-month-old daughter at a hotel when she was arrested by police.

Two people working for the News of the World posed as a couple who wanted to purchase the little girl.

After a number of meetings and phone calls the price was agreed and the journalists contacted detectives at Scotland Yard.

After the sting operation in the hotel room in east London on September 22 last year, the baby was taken into the care of Newham Social Services.

The woman was put behind bars at Inner London Crown Court today for conspiracy to commit child cruelty and holding another person in slavery.

A 48-year-old man, also of north east London, was also jailed for acting as the broker for the sale. He was sentenced to nine years for the same offences.

The pair were found guilty in April when another defendant, a 31-year-old man, was cleared of the offences.

After the pair were convicted, Detective Chief Superintendent Gordon Briggs, head of the Child Abuse Investigation Command at Scotland Yard, said: "This was an appalling case where individuals have attempted to sell a vulnerable child for their own personal gain and with no consideration whatsoever for her safety and future.

"We thank the News of the World for bringing this case to our attention and we are indebted to our partners in Newham Social Services who joined us in a fast-moving operation to recover the victim and remove her to safety."