Boris Johnson is ordering a review of lessons to be learnt from the tragic death of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has confirmed.
Mr Raab said that the prime minister wanted an assessment of the way how social services, local authorities and criminal justice agencies work alongside one another in cases of vulnerable young children
Speaking to Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Raab said he believed that social workers should take a “more precautionary approach” when considering evidence that children may be at risk inside their own homes.
Arthur’s stepmother, Emma Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of his murder, while his father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter. Attorney general Suella Braverman has ordered a review of whether the sentences were too lenient.
Solihull’s Local Child Safeguarding Partnership launched an independent review after it emerged in court the boy had been seen by social workers just two months before his death, but they concluded there were “no safeguarding concerns”.
Mr Raab said: “There’ll be a local safeguarding review, which will look at the local authority’s actions, whether any lessons could have been picked up earlier, whether any warning flags could have been put up earlier.
“And, the prime minister’s made clear, as well as that we want to see how social services and the local authorities liaise with the criminal justice agencies and what lessons further we can learn.”
