Victoria council 'neglected others'

The council at the centre of the Victoria Climbie child-abuse scandal closed its files on half a dozen other cases that could have ended in similar tragedies, a review by its own staff concluded.

The Haringey investigation after Victoria's murder found "serious" cases of suspected abuse that had either been neglected for more than a year or virtually ignored altogether.

The "appalling" findings were revealed by Haringey child protection adviser Dawn Green at the the public inquiry into the child's death.

Ms Green was the co-author of a report which examined social work practices at both the North Tottenham district office, which dealt with Victoria's case, and the Hornsey district office.

While conditions at the North Tottenham office were "worrying", those at the Hornsey were " positively frightening", she said. The report revealed that all the Hornsey office's childprotection cases had been closed and two senior practitioners had then gone through them and decided which ones to reopen.

The cases included:

? Two small children referred by neighbouring Hackney with concerns about neglect in October 1997, which saw one office visit and nothing else.

? A child suspected of sexually abusing other children in April 1999, with no social workers' meeting held until November.

? A child who made serious allegations of physical abuse in October 1999, who had never been properly interviewed.

?A child who witnessed "very serious violence" when her mother's partner threatened the two with a knife. Social workers took two months just to write to them.

? An 11-year-old who complained twice that his father had hit him. The case was not allocated for nearly a year.

Ms Green's report said: "There was evidence of child-protection files that had little or no work for very long periods of time, in some cases over a year."

Inquiry counsel Neil Garnham said: "If this is right, it is a wonder that there are not Victoria Climbie inquiries all over London. Ms Green admitted that had such an audit been carried out the year before, Victoria would probably still be alive.

Haringey is one of four councils, along with two police units and two hospitals, criticised for failing to prevent Victoria's murder by her great-aunt Marie-Therese Kouao, and Kouao's boyfriend.

The inquiry continues today.

Comment: A shocking case