Questions raised over why Daniel Pelka was 'let down'

Daniel Pelka.

Questions have been raised over the murder of Daniel Pelka, after his mother and stepfather were jailed for 30 years today.

The four-year-old was starved for at least six months before being beaten to death in March 2012.

Magdelena Luczak and her boyfriend Mariusz Krezolek were unanimously convicted of murder on Wednesday after blaming each other for the head injury which ultimately caused his death.

ITV News correspondent Juliet Bremner reports:

Eleven of the 12 jurors who found Luczak and Krezolek guilty of murder returned to the court today to see them receive mandatory life terms.

Krezolek, 34, and Luczak, 27, were both jailed for life and ordered to serve minimum term of 30 years before the Parole Board can even consider their release.

Daniel's father said that the life sentences handed out to Luczak and Krezolek were "severe enough", but he only "wishes the same thing would happen to them, what happened to my son".

After the sentencing, the MP for Coventry North West Geoffrey Robinson said that Daniel had been "badly let down" not just by an "evil stepfather and indifferent and selfish mother" but also by his school, health professionals and social services

Coventry North West MP Geoffrey West speaking to ITV News outside of court yesterday.

Mr Robinson called for the director of children's services Colin Green to step down now, rather than in September as planned, saying:

Coventry City Council welcomed the sentencing adding that they will be conducting a review over why Daniel had not been protected.

Amy Weir, the chair of the Coventry Safeguarding Children Board told ITV News that it was "critical to get to the bottom" of the Daniel Pelka case, as it has had a "devastating affect on lots of people around him".

Children's Commissioner for England Dr Maggie Atkinson said that Daniel's murder is a "warning for us to keep vigilant".

The chief executive of the NSPCC Peter Wanless also added: "When adults are hell bent on destroying a child's life and doing all they can to deceive those around them, the criticality of questioning a child's behaviour and speaking out about it is more important than ever".