Girl's death 'could have been avoided': Care agencies criticised over murder of child aged three

CHILD-PROTECTION agencies were severely criticised yesterday in a report into the circumstances surrounding the violent death of a girl aged three at the hands of her stepfather.

Toni Dales, of South Bank, near Middlesbrough, Cleveland, died from head injuries after being repeatedly battered and then flung against a wall by her stepfather, Glen McPherson, 26, who was jailed for life last week for murder.

The National Children's Bureau said mistakes made by social services, police, health and education authorities and the probation service amounted to 'a major failure to recognise abuse and act upon it effectively'.

Six years ago the same agencies were branded 'over zealous' during the Butler- Sloss inquiry into the Cleveland child abuse controversy. Yesterday, however, the Cleveland area child-protection committee was criticised for not taking enough action. The implication is that Toni's death could and should have been prevented.

The report says: 'It is quite clear that individuals failed to carry out policy and procedures in all agencies and at different levels of responsibility and that their professional practice was not always at the standard required.'

It also calls on the Home Office to make changes to the law so that relevant criminal records are made available to protection agencies. The report reveals that despite overwhelming evidence that Toni was at risk, this was never formally recognised and her name was never placed on a child protection register.

In the three years prior to 1990, when McPherson moved in with Toni's mother, Ruth, he had lived with four other women - assaulting three of them and doing criminal damage to the home of the fourth.

However, this information was never relayed to agencies which expressed concern about Toni's safety. Consequently, they did not believe they had enough evidence to get a child-protection order from the courts.

In February 1990, McPherson was interviewed by police about an injury to Toni's younger sister - four-month-old Samantha Dales. A paediatrician felt it may have resulted from an assault.

There was insufficient evidence to prosecute, however, and a month later Samantha died. An inquest ruled that it was a cot death and the previous suspicions about McPherson appear to have been overlooked.

Injuries to Toni that were noticed by staff at an under-fives centre were not properly discussed by the various agencies.

The National Children's Bureau was called in to investigate the background to the tragedy by the Cleveland area child-protection committee which recognised mistakes had been made.

The report reveals that staff in Cleveland are still working under the shadow of the 1987 child abuse affair, and some had misinterpreted the results of the Butler-Sloss inquiry with regard to removal of children from their parents. While removal may not be best for children in cases where sexual abuse is suspected, in cases involving violence it is often essential.

The report recognises that staff were under intense pressure, social workers were unable to cope with the workload and were having to decide themselves which cases took priority without being able to spend time preparing or discussing cases.

In an initial response on behalf of the agencies, Bruce Stevenson, Cleveland's chief executive, said: 'While we acknowledge the report's findings, it must be emphasised that Toni's death was due to a spontaneous outburst of violent action. A delicate balance has to be struck between intervening too much or too little in people's lives. Clearly, in this instance and with the enormous benefit of hindsight there ought to have been more involvement.'