the times | Monday December 6 2021 2GM 5
News
Lockdown and the closure of schools
weakened the child protection system
that failed a six-year-old boy who was
tortured and killed by his stepmother
and father, the children’s commissioner
has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza said that the
voices of children must be listened to
following the murder of Arthur Labin-
jo-Hughes.
Arthur was killed in June last year
after Emma Tustin, 32, and Thomas
Hughes, 29, had submitted him to a
“campaign of cruelty” that amounted
to torture at their home in Shirley, Soli-
hull. The boy was isolated, abused and
forced to eat salt-laced meals before
dying from an “unsurvivable brain
injury” after being beaten by Tustin.
Tustin was jailed for life at Coventry
crown court with a minimum term of
29 years last week for abusing, poison-
ing and murdering Arthur while his
father was jailed for 21 years for
manslaughter and abuse. The judge
described the case as “one of the most
distressing and disturbing” he had
experienced.
An independent serious case review
is under way into the actions of Solihull
council social workers who found “no
safeguarding concerns” after visiting
Arthur two months before he was
killed. Social workers received at least
three warnings from family members
and teachers.
As the government confirmed that it
would be holding a national review to
protect other children, de Souza, the
commissioner for England, said that
more had to be done to support social
workers to spot similar cases, but the
coronavirus lockdown had weakened
the system.
She told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr
Show: “The life of a child is of inestima-
ble value and his voice was not heard
and that’s where we need to start.
“Obviously, there’s a serious case
review under way and we need to see
what that says but we must take deci-
sive action and now.” She said Arthur
was not a baby and had raised his con-
cerns but “the system did not hear him”.
“We must listen to the voices of child-
ren and, secondly, these reviews and
national reviews... tend to make the
same recommendations. It’s not a
matter of system recommendations, it’s
a matter of delivery.”
The national Child Safeguarding
Practice Review Panel will lead the re-
view and provide additional support to
Solihull Safeguarding Children Part-
nership to “upgrade” the existing local
review that was launched shortly after
Arthur’s death.
De Souza said that “professional
curiosity is critical” and the system had
to support social workers to investigate.
She added: “I think there’s no doubt
that lockdown was such a shock to the
whole nation that it weakened the
system of support but, actually, in
Arthur’s case, he did have a number of
professionals around him, he did have
home visits, we have to wait to hear ex-
actly what’s happened there.”
Dominic Raab, the justice secretary,
acknowledged that lockdown had in-
creased risks for vulnerable children
during school closures. He told Sky
News: “While lots of families enjoyed a
bit more time together, for those thatare the victims of domestic abuse, it has
been a very serious time when some of
those risks have been magnified.”
Raab said social workers should take
a more “precautionary approach” to
at-risk children.
Last night Arthur’s grandfather Peter
Halcrow, 61, called for Tustin and
Hughes to get whole-life prison terms.
The attorney-general is to review the
couple’s sentences to determine whe-
ther they were unduly lenient. “It will
burden taxpayers but, as we don’t have
capital punishment, they should cer-
tainly never leave prison as long as they
live for such cruelty and inhumanity,”Halcrow, from Dunkeld, Perthshire,
told The Sun.
Over the weekend football support-
ers came together to applaud Arthur, a
Birmingham City fan, in the sixth min-
ute of games around the country.
Neighbours held a vigil outside his
former home yesterday, with people
laying flowers paying tribute to him.
Arthur’s maternal grandmother, Mad-
eleine Halcrow, could be seen wiping
away tears at the vigil. The crowd lined
the road before letting go of balloons,
some with messages, and residents
could be heard saying “bye Arthur” and
“fly high always”.Old papers
cast light on
last days of
monasteries
Charlotte Wace
Northern CorrespondentLockdown and school closures
let Arthur’s abuse go unnoticed
Neil Johnston Midlands Correspondent
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
An unseen document has provided
“vital insight” into the destruction of
the monasteries under Henry VIII.
The paperwork, which was over-
looked for almost 500 years, details the
dissolution of Furness Abbey in
Cumbria. It was the first large monas-
tery to be destroyed during the Refor-
mation, after Henry established the
Church of England.
Written by Robert Southwell, a key
figure in Henry’s court who was re-
sponsible for the dissolution of the site,
the paperwork had been submitted to
the newly established Court of Aug-
mentations in late 1537.
The financial accounts contain evi-
dence that the monks held out for a bet-
ter deal rather than fleeing for their
lives, according to English Heritage,
which unearthed the document.
The charity said it suggested “a nerv-
ousness about the area’s lack of loyalty
to Henry, whose religious reforms were
far from popular locally”. The monks
were later given “a generous cash hand-
out to leave quietly”. Many assets from
the monastery were sold locally, ac-
cording to the document. The “men of
Kendal” purchased the abbey’s bells for
£80, which was then a large sum.
Almost £800 was grossed from the
suppression of the site, and only £
was left after all the costs had been dis-
persed. The document describes the
physical work of pulling down the
building. Southwell details how the
newly built belltower was left “clear dis-
solved” with the destruction achieved
by using “ropes and other engynes”.
Dr Michael Carter, senior properties
historian at English Heritage, said the
record was “of real historic import-
ance”, with the skills learnt during the
suppression of the abbey later proving
“invaluable” at other monasteries.
“The dissolution gathered pace in the
months following the end of Furness,
and Richard Southwell went on to
occupy key positions within Henry
VIII’s court,” Carter said. “A major
focus of religious, social and economic
life in the Middle Ages, Furness Abbey
remains a spectacular site and a source
of local pride and identity.
“The ruins are every bit as impressive
as those of more famous abbeys such as
Rievaulx and Fountains, and they stand
as vivid witness to the dramatic days
outlined in the document and newly
brought to light.”
The document was searched for 200
years ago by Thomas Alcock Beck, the
antiquary. Although he never found it,
his research into the abbey remains an
essential source for scholars to this day.JACOB KING/PAMadeleine
Halcrow, the
maternal
grandmother of
Arthur Labinjo-
Hughes, who was
killed aged six by
his stepmother
and father, was in
tears at a vigil
held outside his
former home in
Solihull. Flowers,
balloons and
messages were
left by local
residentsThe Duke of Sussex has denied any
involvement in cash for honours claims
and said that he “severed ties” with a
Saudi billionaire donor to the Prince of
Wales’s charity six years ago.
A spokesman said that in 2015 Prince
Harry “expressed his concerns” about
Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz,
who it is claimed was promised a
knighthood and UK residency while
donating to the Prince Foundation.
Michael Fawcett, who resigned as the
foundation’s chief executive after a
Harry: I severed ties with billionaire in cash-for-honours scandal
Charlie Moloney string of allegations first reported by
The Sunday Times, co-ordinated with
“fixers” over honours nominations for
Mahfouz, an investigation found. He
was also involved in directing money
from the donor’s foundation to another
charity of which Prince Charles was
previously patron.
The Sunday Times reported that Har-
ry agreed to see Mahfouz in 2013 after
he gave £50,000 to his charity and hint-
ed that he would give millions more.
The newspaper claimed that they
met at a pub in Chelsea, west London,
to discuss Harry’s charity, Sentebale,
then met again at Clarence House. It
was reported that this opened the door
for access to Charles, a claim the duke
has denied.
A representative of the duke said that
he was disappointed by the reporting of
the allegations, which he said had been
“deliberately vague to try to create a fal-
sified link between the Duke of Sussex
and the CBE scandal, of which he had
no knowledge or involvement”.
A spokesman said: “The duke and his
advisers, as well as his non-profit Sente-
bale, severed ties with Mr Mahfouz and
his associates in 2015, no longer accept-ing further donations to Sentebale and
discontinuing any plans for a fund-
raising event amid growing concerns
over the motives for his support.
“The duke had one planned meeting
with this donor nearly eight years ago,
did not introduce him to any members
of the royal family, and expressed his
concerns about the donor.”
Fawcett resigned in November amid
claims that he promised to help to
secure a knighthood and British citi-
zenship for Mahfouz. Clarence House
has said that Charles had “no know-
ledge” of the cash-for-honours scandal.The duke had raised concerns about
Mahfouz’s motives, a spokesman said