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So sad and upset at all these child abuse and murders of little defenceless babes….
Cowardly inhuman ... who take joy in hurting little ones who can’t defend themselves!!!!
We’ve had so many and Little Arthur and now a beautiful little girl called Star have joined the awful list.
Why if they don’t want these children let someone else have them to love and care for them as it should be, but of course they would lose family allowance etc and the sadistic pleasure they derive from their heinous actions!
I just wish they get a beating every day in prison and never come out !!!!!

Star was on the child protection list, there were five people raised concerns yet social services let themselves be palmed of by the perpetrator saying they were just malicious reports.

Society lets kids down as much as individuals - but of course this country derides socialism.

The most caring Prime Minister we might ever have had was thrown to the wolves in favour of anti-socialists. One gets what we vote for!

I have to admit it's cases like this that make me think that, in certain carefully defined cases, the death penalty might have a place in the system.

Hi cools, I agree with all that you have written in your post. This is happening to too many defenceless children and all we hear is don't be blaming social services!
Like Arthur the social services received warnings from his Grandmother, Grandfather and also from the stepmothers stepfather; why do they listen to the parents first instead of taking heed, it is obvious that they are devious and will lie to save their own neck!

Hi Greenwood, I have never agreed on the death penalty but when I hear that one child after another is being tortured and killed by the very adults that are supposed to be their protector it makes me think twice! Something has to be done to deter these monsters!

Hi DD surely educated people should be alerted to the problem when 5 people have reported their concerns instead of ignoring them.

For who? The perpetrators or for the people that create the system that lets this happen?

Its hardly a secret that child services has been continually deprived of resources.

How many times has a child been tortured and murdered and loads of public money spent on reviews and creating promises but exactly the same thing happens again.

The Every Child Matters green paper was published in 2003 leading to the Children's Act 2004 following the murder of Victoria Climbie in 2000, that was 4 years of expensive bureaucracy and yet in 2007 Peter Connolly was murdered with full view of the circumstances by the authorities. Then Daniel Pelka in 2012 then ..... it goes on and on with the usual soundbites of "lessons have been learnt" and "actions have been put in place to stop this happening again".

The sum total, a revolving door of concern but nothing done, hand wringing and promises, now woke has entered the arena, the excuse being that those reporting this poor little mites abuse did so only because they were gay, a defence more than likely than not accepted and likely to show up in the future, along with a damaged childhood, mental health problems, drugs, ethnicity or any excuse that can be dredged up to escape justice, the sad part is they are usually accepted by the very poor justice system we have, unless of course you are a celebrity or politician or someone of alleged standing whom receive the full attendance by the police and retribution meted out by the law.

We all know that every department needs more money but in my view it’s the rules, regulations, red tape , and political correctness that have stopped and bound departments doing the right thing. Society too have become so insular and now scared to say boo to a goose in case you are accused of something as Caspar says these evil monsters blamed being gay for investigation. In years gone by all the neighbours knew what was going on in their street and weren’t afraid to step in and dole out their own punishment!
I too would like capital punishment to come back for cases like this , the present sentences don’t seem to scare them , I read that this monster after being sentenced for Stars death smiled and made heart gestures to her family in court !

Hi DD this is in response to your post from yesterday about services being continually deprived. However they find obscene amounts of money to pay their employees who fail to do their job! Maybe too much going to the people at the top and not enough spent further down the chain!

[b]A report said services for children in the area had 'seriously declined' due to 'poor leadership' under her tenure
Max Parry
[/b]

A council boss in Solihull has been criticised after a report said services for children in the area had “seriously declined” due to “poor leadership”.

It comes in the wake of the tragic murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who was tortured and killed during lockdown by his stepmother Emma Tustin and father Thomas Hughes.

Solihull’s Director of Children’s Services, Louise Rees, left her post before his parents went on trial, bragging on social media that she is now “retired and loving it” – three months after the six-year-old boy was killed.

The 60-year-old reportedly earnt somewhere in the region of £120,000-to-£140,000 as a director within Stoke-on-Trent City Council, starting the role in March 2019. Her appointment came weeks after inspectors found “widespread and serious failings” within the children’s services department at the council.

During her time in the job, an Ofsted report said services for children in Stoke had “seriously declined” due to “poor leadership, management oversight and an absence of performance inspection”, with children “not being protected”.

It emerged at trial that Arthur had been seen by social workers just two months before his death, after concerns were raised by his paternal grandmother Joanne Hughes, but they concluded there were “no safeguarding concerns”.

In her victim impact statement, which she read in court ahead of the sentencing, Ms Hughes said Arthur, as a “happy, contented, thriving seven-year-old” would “be alive today” had her son not met Tustin.

The secondary school teacher added: “It is also clear that Arthur was failed by the very authorities that we, as a society, are led to believe are there to ensure the safety of everyone.”

An independent review is now under way into the authorities’ contact with Arthur before his death.

That work will include examining other potential missed opportunities to intervene, including an anonymous call Tustin’s own stepfather John Dutton claimed in court to have made to social services, and contact with the police from Hughes’ brother about Arthur’s bruises.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) is set to publish a report into West Midlands Police’s contact with the case, in due course, but has said it “found no indication any individual behaved in a manner that justified disciplinary proceedings”.

This man also left social services with a whopping £122,000, Bradford City Council head of Children Services Mark Douglas resigned two months ago.

Re: Star Hobson

I've never found a correlation between high salary and doing a job well.

I think the point being made is that some of those in charge are content to sit in their office and do nothing to earn their money, basically they have little or no interest in the job just the wages, wrong people in the job picked because of who they know more than what they know, plus the ability to disappear at the opportune moment with a big payoff to save embarrassment to all concerned

Hi Casper, you got it spot on! I feel some people take these jobs and can do what they do because they actually don't care!

It's really terrible that children have to experience this. That is why the legislation on guardianship and adoption is so complicated . And the requirements for potential guardians are very strict. Thus, the state is trying to protect children. But unfortunately these measures are not enough and this happens. I hope over time people will understand how important it is to give love to children. I dream of adopting a child. Only now I have the opportunity to contact the adoption agency. And I really hope that I can become a caring mother for my son.