Social workers sacked after starvation case

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Six social workers have been sacked at the council department which failed to prevent a seven-year-old girl from starving to death, despite warnings from her teachers, officials said on Friday.

Khyra Ishaq died in May 2008, emaciated and weighing under three stone (16kg), after her parents beat and abused her and kept food locked out of reach at home.

The sacked staff "showed no sign whatsoever" of trying to meet the minimum standards required to work in the children's department in Birmingham, the unit's new chief said.

"If people do not meet the standards we have set, both frontline and managers, we will take robust action," said Colin Tucker, director of children's social care at Birmingham City Council. A council spokeswoman gave no more details about the dismissals.

The girl's mother Angela Gordon, 35, was jailed for 15 years last week for manslaughter. Gordon's former partner Junaid Abuhamza, 31, was jailed indefinitely with a minimum term of 7-½ years.

The pair, who were cleared of murder, also admitted child cruelty charges relating to five other children in their care and control, who were also starved and abused.

A High Court review of the council's care for children took place in 2008.

After the review, Judge Mrs Justice King said it was "beyond belief that in 2008 in a bustling, energetic and modern city like Birmingham, a child of seven was withdrawn from school and thereafter kept in squalid conditions for a period of five months before finally dying of starvation."

"The schools did all they could to bring their concerns to the attention of the relevant authorities," she added. "These concerns were not taken sufficiently seriously and were not adequately investigated."

Birmingham council said it had brought in better training for social workers and laid down clearer standards for staff.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said last week he had asked Children's Secretary Ed Balls to intervene in Birmingham to ensure it is working properly. A serious case review into the girl's death will be published soon, he added.

- Reuters