Mother feels 'let down' by authorities over Lee Irving murder
By Kris Jepson
Exclusive: Speaking for the first time since a review was published that highlighted “missed opportunities” by multiple agencies to protect Lee Irving, his mother, Bev Irving, has told ITV News she had warned Newcastle social services, the police and others that her son’s safety was in jeopardy as early as 2014.
Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board made eight recommendations in the review so that "lessons can be learned" from the Lee Irving case.
Watch @krisjepson's exclusive report here:
Ewen Weir from Newcastle City Council offered his "condolences" to Lee's family and said "all the agencies involved worked tirelessly to provide support to Lee, this became increasingly difficult as Lee became disengaged with the services, despite agencies best efforts we could not support him as much as they would have liked".
Vida Morris, from Newcastle Adult Safeguarding said: "Lee’s story will be used locally, regionally and nationally to improve safeguarding and protect vulnerable adults."
Assistant Chief Constable Darren Best of Northumbria Police said: "We note the report and will work with partners to continue do all we can to prevent such a tragic case happening in the future".
Bev claims she tried to get the authorities to section Lee for his own safety when she discovered he was staying at the house of the man who went on to kill her son, James Wheatley, in Newcastle’s Studdon Walk.
During last year’s eight week trial, a jury heard how Lee, who had a learning disability, was battered to death over a period of weeks by the people he thought were his friends, before his body was dumped on a path in Kenton, Newcastle, next to the A1.
Asked if she felt the authorities had let Lee and her down, she said:
Bev says social services visited the property and left satisfied Lee, who had an IQ of 56, was happy to be there.
Bev says she felt like she “had lost all rights as a mother” and told the authorities “my son’s going to end up dead”.
She blames that on the transition Lee made from children’s to adult services.
In light of Lee’s case, Bev is calling for parliament to legislate "Lee's Law". She explains, as is written in the review, she believes services should "consider the capacity, rather than the age of the individual” in future and that parents “remain part of the decision-making process in the case of vulnerable adults”.
Last December James Wheatley was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for murdering 24-year-old Lee in June 2015.
Barry Imray, Wheatley’s mother Julie Mills and his former partner Nicole Lawrence were jailed for causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Imray, who also had learning difficulties, has served his sentence, but Mills and Lawrence recently had their sentences extended to 10 and 7 years respectively.
Bev says she has “hatred” for Wheatley, Mills and Lawrence, but said she has “no hard feelings” toward Barry Imray.
Over the course of two weeks in 2015 Lee was subjected to at least two vicious attacks. The court was told he was kicked, punched and stamped repeatedly and eventually died of respiratory failure due to his extensive injuries.
He had 27 separate rib fractures, a broken nose and jaw, facial and scalp including extensive bruises, grazes and lacerations, leg abrasions and bruising to his lung.
During his ordeal he was held in Julie Mills’ home in Studdon Walk, Kenton. Sedated with a combination of drugs, including morphine, valium and buprenorphine (medication for heroin addicts), he was beaten again and again. The four defendants prevented Lee from getting urgent medical attention on several occasions.