Grandfather of murdered Arthur slams authorities

Grandfather of murdered Arthur slams the authorities for “not acting on” concerns.

Six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes suffered from a staggering 130 injuries. He also had “unsurvivable” brain damage and was poisoned with salt. Step mum Emma Tustin has been jailed for a minimum 29 years for the young boy’s murder. Arthur’s father Thomas Hughes has been jailed for manslaughter. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Arthur’s maternal grandfather has spoken out. He believes that safety concerns from relatives and neighbours were ignored by the authorities. Before Arthur died he had been seen by social workers in the West Midlands. The case was closed though due to ‘no safeguarding concerns’ being raised.

Speaking to BBC Radio Four’s Today programme grandfather Peter Halcrow explained: “It’s not as if it was a passing-by thing.

“People were flagging up there were problems and social services got involved and said there was nothing to worry about. Hey-ho three or four months later, the boy’s dead.

“They must have a tick list to do, the house is clean and tidy, blah, blah, blah, so they won’t worry about it.

“If alarm bells are ringing all around, with neighbours giving statements, surely there must be someone or some kind of body which can step in and say we’re taking that child out of that situation.

“The father is not man enough to do that himself, someone has to say this child is suffering and needs help and I guess that’s what social services are for.”

Arthur’s grandfather hopes that Tustin and Hughes will remain in jail for the rest of their lives. He commented: “I wouldn’t give them the time of day and I wouldn’t want them to see the light of day ever again,”

“[Arthur] had his whole life ahead of him, you know? He could have enjoyed all the things we have enjoyed or messed up in our lives.”


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Alex
Written by

Alex Glenn

Originally from the UK, Alex is based in Almeria and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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