Calls for social services overhaul after death of Star Hobson

Campaigners today led calls for a dramatic overhaul of the UK's social services system following the horrific killing of little Star Hobson.

The 16-month-old was murdered by her mother Frankie Smith's girlfriend Savannah Brockhill after suffering months of abuse in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire during the Covid lockdown last year.

Star's great-grandfather branded Brockhill, 28, 'pure evil' and 'ascended from the bowels of hell', while Smith, 20, cried as she was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler's death at Bradford Crown Court today.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the case 'shocking and heartbreaking', adding on Twitter: 'We must protect children from these barbaric crimes and ensure lessons are learned.' And Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi vowed: 'We will never hesitate to take robust steps to prevent tragic cases like this happening'.

Social services missed five opportunities to stop Star's killers, including her great-grandfather's partner, in the months before her death on September 22, 2020.

Today's verdicts have fuelled mounting calls for sweeping reform, amid widespread outcry over the case of murdered six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes by his cruel stepmother earlier this month.

Former Children's Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, the chairwoman of the Commission on Young Lives, warned that the Covid lockdown 'has brought its own opportunities for those who harm, groom and abuse children'.

She told MailOnline: 'It is time we made improving children's social care and protection as big a priority as reforming adult social care. I hope the Government will act swiftly on the proposals that come out of the forthcoming independent review into children's social care.

'The horrific murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson are a stark and tragic reminder that our children's social services system is facing a perfect storm after years of under investment and the diminishing of early intervention and family support.'

The current Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, told MailOnline: 'It is clear that there are serious lessons that need to be learnt. Applying these lessons across the country is the biggest challenge facing us. It is incumbent on all of us working with children to step up to that challenge.'

She added: 'The beautiful, smiling picture of Star Hobson reminds us how precious the life of each child is. What she endured is unspeakable but it must not be unthinkable. We need to ask the hard questions about how this happened, and the even harder questions about how this is the second case in recent weeks.'

The NSPCC said 'we must do all we can to prevent cruelty and abuse to children'. A spokesman added: 'Star Hobson's young life was cut brutally short and it is appalling that she was harmed by the very people who should have been keeping her safe.

'Star was subjected to horrific cruelty and violence over several months that no child should ever have to experience.'

Leader of Bradford Council Susan Hinchcliffe said a review was under way into agencies's contact with the family but said: 'Star was let down and we all want to know if anything could have been done differently.'

Tory MP Robbie Moore called on Ms Hinchliffe and the council's chief executive Kersten England to resign, saying: 'Bradford Council bosses should hang their heads in shame.'

The Department for Education said Star's death was 'deeply disturbing' and said it would 'not hesitate' to remove children's services control from Bradford Council 'if necessary'. A spokesman said the review into Star's death will feed into the national review of Arthur's death commissioned by Mr Zahawi last week.

Asked about the response of social services outside court, Star's great-grandfather David Fawcett said: 'It's disgusting because there were five referrals. Not one of them did anything. It's just beyond belief, really.'

Asked whether social services had missed the 'blindingly obvious', Mr Fawcett, who is also Smith's grandfather, said: 'Yes.'

He added: 'I'm just pleased we got a murder conviction for Savannah Brockhill. To me she was just pure evil. I just can't believe she could do something like that to a baby girl. We were just a quiet, lovely family and she ascended from the bowels of hell and just completely devastated and wrecked our family.'

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Swift, of West Yorkshire Police, was asked outside Bradford Crown Court whether enough was done to protect Star.

He said: 'There is a review that's ongoing, a local children's safeguarding practice review.

'At the early stage of our investigation I linked in with the chair of that review, Mr Mellor, to ensure that review could be undertaken in a timely manner and to make sure that information could be shared, lessons learned and, more importantly, the lessons implemented.'

Mr Swift said he could not comment further on the review, which is a 'work in progress'.

He said: 'Whatever the outcomes of that review, if those two individuals that have been convicted today of those offences hadn't done what they had done, then Star Hobson would still be alive.'

Mr Swift confirmed that West Yorkshire Police had 'some contact with the family' and he has referred that contact to the force's professional standards department who, in turn, notified the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Smith cried uncontrollably as the verdicts were delivered as the pair stood in the glass-fronted dock.

Star was taken to hospital from the flat where she lived with Smith in Wesley Place, Keighley, but her injuries were 'utterly catastrophic' and 'unsurvivable', prosecutors told the two-month trial.

Jurors heard that Smith's family and friends had growing fears about bruising they saw on the little girl in the months before she died and made a series of complaints to social services.

In each case Brockhill and Smith managed to convince social workers that marks on Star were accidental or that the complaints were made maliciously by people who did not like their relationship.

Prosecutors described how the injuries that caused Star's death involved extensive damage to her abdominal cavity 'caused by a severe and forceful blow or blows, either in the form of punching, stamping or kicking to the abdomen'.

Jurors also heard there were other injuries on her body which meant that 'in the course of her short life, Star had suffered a number of significant injuries at different times'.

Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC said there had been two fractures to Star's right leg 'caused by forceful twisting' which had been refractured as they healed.

He also described a fracture to the back of the skull and bruising to Star, 'much of which is considered to be non-accidental in origin'.