Bradford Council 'deeply sorry' after review finds failures in Star Hobson case
Council chiefs say they are "deeply sorry" that opportunities to prevent the murder of Star Hobson were missed.
A major review of the case has found that Star's family were "not listened to" when they raised concerns about her treatment at the hands of her mother and her mother's partner.
The expert panel said Bradford Council's children's services were "in turmoil" and failed to assess the risks properly before the 16-month-old died at her home in Keighley in September 2020.
Social workers closed her case just days before she was murdered.
Council chief executive Kersten England said: "The murder of Star Hobson was horrific and distressing and I am deeply sorry that opportunities to protect her from such cruel and despicable abuse were missed.
“Our thoughts are, and always will be, with those who loved her.
"The expert report is tough to read but it is absolutely essential that we understand in detail what went wrong. I accept its findings and assure everyone that firm action has been and will continue to be taken to strengthen our child protection processes and help prevent a tragic case like this from happening again."
Star was subjected to months of abuse and neglect by her mother, Frankie Smith, and Smith's partner, Savannah Brockhill.
She suffered multiple injuries before dying on 22 September 2020. Brockhill was convicted of murder. Smith was jailed for causing or allowing her death.
The case came just months after the death of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes in Solihull. A review was set up to look into what lessons could be learned from both cases.
And it comes just months after Bradford Council was stripped of responsibility for running children's services in the city.
Marium Haque speaks to ITV News
Marium Haque, the council's newly appointed strategic director, said: "What we did for Star was just not good enough. We really let her down... My leadership team, which is a new team, is focused on relentlessly committing ourselves to understanding what went wrong and to make sure that we have the right systems in place to support children and young people."
West Yorkshire Police said officers had been "profoundly affected" by the case.Bradford district commander Chief Supt Robert McCoubrey said: "Protecting vulnerable children is of the highest priority for West Yorkshire Police and we are wholly committed to working closely with our partners in continuing the transformation and improvement of practice.
"We have already reviewed and started to address a number of areas that have been highlighted in the report and will now work collectively to implement all of the local recommendations that have been put forward."