Susanna Reid accuses social workers’ leader of trying to shift the blame for Arthur’s death by suggesting his grandmother should have done more to report his ‘unusual’ bruising – even though she DID tell social workers

  • Wendy Thorogood is chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals 
  • Said suspicious bruises should be reported to medics as well as social services 
  • GMB host accused her of seeking to blame Arthur’s grandmother for tragedy  

Susanna Reid admitted to being ‘stunned’ today after accusing a child protection expert of blaming Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’s grandmother for not telling medics as well as social services after noticing ‘unusual’ bruising on his back. 

Wendy Thorogood, chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, said referring the injuries to medics could lead to a ‘quicker’ response than only telling social workers.

Arthur’s grandmother, Joanne Hughes, took photos of bruises on his shoulder and made a referral to Solihull Council. Social workers visited the next day but reported ‘no concerns’ after concluding the bruises were caused by ‘play’.

Three months later, the six-year-old was killed by his stepmother, Emma Tustin, 32, and father, Thomas Hughes, 29, subjected him to ‘unimaginable’ torture and abuse.

Arthur’s grandmother, Joanne Hughes, took photos of bruises on Arthur’s shoulder (pictured) and made a referral to Solihull Council

Wendy Thorogood, chair of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, said referring the injuries to medics could lead to a ‘quicker’ response than only telling social workers, leaving Susanna Reid ‘stunned’ 

Interviewing Ms Thorogood, Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid said she was shocked by the suggestion that Ms Hughes could have done more.

She said: ‘I’m sorry, I’m just stunned – because I would have thought once you phoned social services, they’re the ones who trigger the process, they’re the ones with the responsibility, they’re the ones with the legal powers.

And if you’re told as the grandmother [Ms Hughes], ”actually it’s down to you”…’

Inmates ‘spike Arthur’s stepmother’s meals with SALT’ 

Katie Feehan for MailOnline

Child killer Emma Tustin who tortured her stepson to death has had her meals laced with salt by her cellmates in revenge for the abuse she carried out on the six-year-old before she battered him to death, it has been claimed.

The 32-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years on Friday after she was convicted of murdering six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes at her home in Solihull, West Midlands.

His father, Thomas Hughes, was also jailed for 21 years after being convicted of manslaughter for encouraging the killing, including by sending a text message to Tustin hours before the fatal assault telling her ‘just end him’.

As it was revealed the Government will launch a major review into his death, Tustin’s former cellmate has now claimed that inmates housed with Tustin at Eastwood Park Prison laced her meals with salt as revenge for the horrific abuse she inflicted on Arthur.

Meanwhile, the devastated grandfather of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes has said ‘no punishment could be enough’ for the youngster’s evil killers as he reconsiders his opposition to the death penalty.

Peter Halcrow, 61, of Dunkeld, Perthshire, said Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes have ‘forfeited their right to live’ and should ‘never see the light of day again’ following his beloved grandsons horrific death.

Through a harrowing nine-week trial at Coventry Crown Court, it was revealed Tustin forced Arthur to consume ‘an absolute minimum’ of 34 grams of salt hours before she battered him to death. 

Ms Thorogood responded: ‘I didn’t say it’s down to the grandmother, I’m saying at that moment in time the child could have been medically assessed. My words are being sort of slightly twisted, I’m just saying that would have prevented a delay.’

Ms Reid and co-host Martin Lewis invited Ms Thorogood to discuss Arthur’s cases and how social services could have responded differently.

Mr Lewis began by asking her: ‘There are a lot of lessons to be learnt here Wendy, but I suppose if I start with the bigger question: Can we ever really stop this from happening again, is that at all possible?’

Ms Thorogood replied: ‘I think we have to believe that we can make a difference, but we do have to remember that up to 70 children – perhaps more – die each year, where we’re learning lessons and this is something that has gone on for many years and it is something that we are continually addressing.’

Ms Reid then joined in and said: ‘I want to ask you, because there were opportunities to save Arthur and it would not be true to say that his crimes went unheeded because his grandparents raised concerns, his uncle raised concerns and social services did visit. What is the procedure if I’m a grandparent and I’m concerned and I call social services?’

‘As professionals they should be trained to be able to identify where there’s manipulation,’ Ms Thorogood replied.

‘Just one thing, I want to pick up on this bruising because clearly it was shared with social service and the photo was shared with police, and I’m not criticising her actions at all, but I would have liked if she actually had that child in front of her to actually seek medical intervention as well.

‘Because at that moment in time you can take the photo, you can use that for evidence, but health workers are part of the system as well and that could have triggered a multi-system assessment quicker.’

Ms Reid asked: ‘When you say ‘she’ are you talking about the social worker?’ to which Ms Thorogood said: ‘The grandmother. If she’s taken the photo… my plea for anyone out there who’s concerned about a child where there’s visible bruises is seek medical attention.’

A baffled Ms Reid said: ‘I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but she went to social services – are you saying that social services couldn’t intervene and therefore it was down to the grandmother to seek further help?’

Ms Thorogood answered: ‘It would trigger an intervention, it triggered the actual point of a social worker going out but it’s the matter of delay and the severity of when that was seen and I wouldn’t disparage anyone for doing a referral.’

‘I don’t understand why you’re suggesting the grandmother should have done more,’ Ms Reid said.

Three months later, the six-year-old was killed by his stepmother, Emma Tustin, 32, and father, Thomas Hughes, 29, (who he is pictured with) subjected him to ‘unimaginable’ torture and abuse 


Emma Tustin, 32, (left) murdered Arthur by repeatedly slamming his head on a hard surface after she and 29-year-old Thomas Hughes starved the youngster and poisoned him with salt

Ms Thorogood insisted she was not blaming Arthur’s grandmother but giving advice to people in similar situations in the future 

Wendy quickly responded: ‘I want to really stress that I am not saying the grandmother could have done any more, but I’m just saying for future, if anyone sees any unusual bruising, seek medical intervention as well as sharing that with social care as that would trigger the process.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m just stunned,’ Ms Reid, a mother of three, said. ‘Because I would have thought once you phoned social services, they’re the ones who trigger the process, they’re the ones with the responsibility, they’re the ones with the legal powers. 

‘And if you’re told as the grandmother, ‘actually it’s down to you’…’ 

‘I didn’t say it’s down to the grandmother, I’m saying at that moment in time the child could have been medically,’ Ms Thorogood responded. ‘My words are being sort of slightly twisted, I’m just saying that would have prevented a delay.’ 

‘They have forfeited their right to live’: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’s grandfather says ‘no punishment could be enough’ for his killers who have made him reconsider his opposition to the death penalty 

Peter Halcrow, 61, one of Arthur’s grandfathers 

Kaya Terry for MailOnline  

The devastated grandfather of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes has said ‘no punishment could be enough’ for the youngster’s evil killers as he reconsiders his opposition to the death penalty.

Peter Halcrow, 61, of Dunkeld, Perthshire, said Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes have ‘forfeited their right to live’ and should ‘never see the light of day again’ following his beloved grandsons horrific death. 

Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of his murder, while his father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter. 

He said: ‘They must never see the light of day again. No punishment could ever be enough for this pair.’

‘I have never favoured the death penalty because I know mistakes can be made by courts, but in my view they have forfeited their right to live’, he told The Sun. 

Boris Johnson is expected to announce a wide-ranging inquiry into Arthur’s murder in an attempt to avert another such tragedy

‘It will burden taxpayers but, as we don’t have capital punishment, they should certainly never leave prison as long as they live for such cruelty and inhumanity.’

The youngster’s grandfather, who runs a cafe, said he was ‘shocked and mystified’ that Tustin and Thomas were able to get away with their evil abuse without an urgent safeguarding concern being raised by social workers. 

Peter is the father of Arthur’s biological mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, who killed her partner Gary Cunningham by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage in February 2019.

She was found guilty of manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court in July 2021 and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. 

Hughes and Tustin bought a hot tub to enjoy the spring 2020 heatwave – while forcing Arthur to stand for hours in their sweltering hallway wearing a heavy, fluffy onesie

This news comes as the government announced a major review into the circumstances which led to the murder of six-year-old Arthur.

It aims to determine what improvements are needed by the agencies that came into contact with Arthur in the months before he was murdered by stepmother Emma Tustin at their home in Solihull.

The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will lead the review and will provide additional support to Solihull Children’s Safeguarding Partnership to ‘upgrade’ the already existing local review which was launched shortly after Arthur’s death in June 2020.

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