Questions must be answered over the “awful” case of 10-year-old Sara Sharif who was murdered by her father and stepmother, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The Prime Minister said there need to be safeguards for children, especially those being home-schooled like Sara, and a Cabinet minister has indicated details on how these will be made stronger will be announced “imminently”.
On Wednesday, Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty of her murder. Her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with them, was convicted of causing or allowing her death.
Sara was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Sharif was awarded custody, despite accusations of abuse against him, jurors heard.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said Sharif created a “culture of violent discipline”, where assaults on Sara had “become completely routine, completely normalised”.
Authorities failed to identify Sara was at risk for years before her broken and battered body was discovered at her family home in Woking on August 10 2023.
Speaking to broadcasters on Thursday, the PM described the case as “just awful”.
He added: “It’s very hard to see, to read about, for many people who will be viewing, it’s just shocking.
“So that’s where I start on this. Obviously, there’s going to be questions that need to be answered in relation to this case.”
Asked whether the Government would ban smacking children in its Children’s Wellbeing Bill, he said: “I don’t think that we should allow ourselves to think that whatever the rules on smacking are that’s got anything to do with this case.
“This is about violence. It’s about abuse. It’s about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled. So that’s where I think the questions are.
“But my response, first and foremost, is just the most awful case that many people, many viewers will find very, very, very hard to hear.”
Sara was taken out of school in April 2023, and the violence against her intensified in the weeks before her death.
England’s Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has described it as “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, and called for a change in the law so children who are suspected victims of abuse cannot be home educated.
Following the verdicts, the Department for Education said it is “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks”.
A spokesperson added: “This includes overhauling children’s social care and bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education so this can never be used to conceal abuse.”
Commons leader Lucy Powell told Parliament on Thursday: “Can I say on behalf of the Government that nothing is more important than keeping children safe.
“We are committed to further reform of children’s social care and much stronger safeguards for children being taken into home education.
“This is long overdue, and further details will be announced imminently.”
Figures published on Thursday showed that local authorities in England reported 111,700 children were in elective home education this autumn term, a rise from an estimated 92,000 in the previous autumn term.
The trial heard that in January 2023, Sara had begun wearing a hijab to cover up her bruises at school.
Teachers noticed marks on her face and referred her to social services in March of that year, but the case was dropped within days and she was taken out of school by her family in April.
As part of previously announced reforms to children’s social care, the Government said it would be introducing a new duty on parents where, if their child is subject to a child protection inquiry or is on a child protection plan – meaning the child is suspected of being at risk of significant harm – they will need local authority consent to home educate them.
The plans, under the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, also include requiring local authorities to have registers of children not in school, in a bid to avoid children slipping under the radar.
The Bill has not yet begun making its way through Parliament, but it is understood it could be introduced in the Commons as early as next week.
Dame Rachel called on the Government to bring forward its plans “without delay”.
Separately, a report published by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel the day after the verdicts in Sara’s case showed that 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect, between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.
Panel chairwoman Annie Hudson described Sara’s case as “harrowing” as she called for a more joined-up approach to child protection, with a need for teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, police and other professionals to share information to understand what is happening in a child’s life.
