Nurse who helps protect children is made a dame

A London nurse who was instrumental in improving child protection after the murder of Victoria Climbié has been made a Dame of the British Empire.

Donna Kinnair, director of nursing at Southwark primary care trust, was an adviser to Lord Laming throughout his inquiry into the eight-year-old's death.

The child was neglected, tortured and abused in Tottenham at the hands of her great-aunt Marie-Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Karl Manning. The inquiry heard how social workers and medics failed to react to the danger she was in and missed a series of chances to intervene.

Since then, Dame Donna, a mother of three from Hackney, has fought for better communication between health and social services.

She was made a dame in the Queen's annual birthday honours list. "My daughter was the same age as Victoria had been when I was working on the Laming inquiry," she said. "It had a huge impact on my life and I struggled with the fact that I was part of a profession which could have done better.

"It is very difficult to judge your peers but if the Climbié case taught us anything it is that we must work together in partnership to make sure no other child slips through the net."

Dame Donna, 47, has been a nurse for 25 years. Her career began in 1983 when she trained at the Princess Alexandra School of Nursing at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Her first job was in east London, working with HIV and intensive care patients.

She became a health visitor in Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets, then completed a masters degree in medical law and ethics, which led her to specialise in child protection in south London.

"Law helped me put my arguments across and that has proved a huge asset in facilitating the protection of children," she said. "You can't change the world overnight but you can make improvements bit by bit, which can have lasting consequences."

Dame Donna became Southwark's director of nursing in

2002. She has taught students medical law, ethics and child protection in Britain, New Zealand, Moscow and Kenya and has written articles.

"Nurses don't often get made a dame," she said. "I was really shocked and delighted. I am honoured to receive this on behalf of every nurse who works hard at caring for patients."

Susanna White, chief executive of the trust, said: "This is a wonderful accolade which reflects the tremendous contribution Donna has made to nursing in London. It is also a recognition of the value of community nursing."

Kouao and Manning are serving life sentences for the murder of Victoria in

2000. Lord Laming's inquiry was followed by a series of reforms in child protection.