Susanna Reid admitted to being 'stunned' today after accusing a child protection expert of blaming Arthur Labinjo-Hughes's grandmother for not telling medics as well as social services after noticing 'unusual' bruising on his back.
Wendy Thorogood, chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, said referring the injuries to medics could lead to a 'quicker' response than only telling social workers.
Arthur's grandmother, Joanne Hughes, took photos of bruises on his shoulder and made a referral to Solihull Council. Social workers visited the next day but reported 'no concerns' after concluding the bruises were caused by 'play'.
Three months later, the six-year-old was killed by his stepmother, Emma Tustin, 32, and father, Thomas Hughes, 29, subjected him to 'unimaginable' torture and abuse.
Arthur's grandmother, Joanne Hughes, took photos of bruises on Arthur's shoulder (pictured) and made a referral to Solihull Council
Wendy Thorogood, chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, said referring the injuries to medics could lead to a 'quicker' response than only telling social workers, leaving Susanna Reid 'stunned'
Interviewing Ms Thorogood, Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid said she was shocked by the suggestion that Ms Hughes could have done more.
She said: 'I'm sorry, I'm just stunned - because I would have thought once you phoned social services, they're the ones who trigger the process, they're the ones with the responsibility, they're the ones with the legal powers.
And if you're told as the grandmother [Ms Hughes], ''actually it's down to you''...'
Ms Thorogood responded: 'I didn't say it's down to the grandmother, I'm saying at that moment in time the child could have been medically assessed. My words are being sort of slightly twisted, I'm just saying that would have prevented a delay.'
Ms Reid and co-host Martin Lewis invited Ms Thorogood to discuss Arthur's cases and how social services could have responded differently.
Mr Lewis began by asking her: 'There are a lot of lessons to be learnt here Wendy, but I suppose if I start with the bigger question: Can we ever really stop this from happening again, is that at all possible?'
Ms Thorogood replied: 'I think we have to believe that we can make a difference, but we do have to remember that up to 70 children - perhaps more - die each year, where we're learning lessons and this is something that has gone on for many years and it is something that we are continually addressing.'
Ms Reid then joined in and said: 'I want to ask you, because there were opportunities to save Arthur and it would not be true to say that his crimes went unheeded because his grandparents raised concerns, his uncle raised concerns and social services did visit. What is the procedure if I'm a grandparent and I'm concerned and I call social services?'
'As professionals they should be trained to be able to identify where there's manipulation,' Ms Thorogood replied.
'Just one thing, I want to pick up on this bruising because clearly it was shared with social service and the photo was shared with police, and I'm not criticising her actions at all, but I would have liked if she
