Sara Sharif ‘let down’ by social services and other children are being ‘failed’, children’s commissioner says

The Children’s to the commissioner joined the chorus of anger after the murder of Sara Sharif by her abusive family, warning that there have been similar cases child abuse “out there”.

Dame Rachel de Souza said yes 10-year-old schoolgirl “let down” by social services, who closed her case six days after her elementary school made the referral after teachers noticed bruises in March 2023.

She died at the hands of her father Urfan Sharif (42) and stepmother Beinash Batool (30) on August 8 last year after a “campaign of abuse”, who saw her beaten with a cricket bat and a metal pole, scalded with hot water and burned with a household iron.

Speaking to LBC’s Andrew Marr, Dame Rachel said: “Just thinking about that child’s battered and tortured body in the last few hours of her life fills me with anger and I am deeply concerned.

“I mean the safety net that should have been around her. She was a child known to social services before she was born, which means she would be six times more likely to die than normal children due to abuse or neglect from injuries inflicted by other children.

“She let herself down and I no longer accept from anyone ‘lessons will be learned’, or ‘we are doing an inspection’. I need a change and I need a change for these kids now. There are other Sara Sharifs and there are some very clear actions that need to be taken.”

Sara was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Sharif was remanded in custody, despite allegations of abuse against him by multiple previous partners.

Jurors heard Sharif created a “culture of violent discipline”, where assaults on Sarah “became completely routine, completely normalised”. By the end of her life, she had suffered over 70 injuries, including 25 fractures, a broken hyoid bone in her throat and a traumatic brain injury.

The court heard how the defendants fled to Pakistan after Sarah died at the family home in Woking, Surrey.

Sharif called the police when he arrived in Islamabad and admitted that he had “beat her up too much”.

Officers went to his former home and found Sarah’s broken and battered body in a bunk bed, with Sharif’s confession on her pillow.

Despite the school’s directive after the teacher spoke to Batool about Sara’s bruises, her case was closed within days. Her family then told the school that she would be home-schooled, and it is believed that the abuse against her intensified.

“What seems to have happened is that they didn’t have the correct information to confirm that it was her,” said Dame Rachel. “They didn’t know that she was known to social services. Now we need to sort out the data on children at risk.

“We absolutely have the capacity and I think most people in this country would think that education and social care in different parts of the country are talking to each other with data, but they’re not, and this is a huge failure in this case. ”

After the sentencing of Sharif and Batool on Wednesday, Dame Rachel said the case highlighted “deep weaknesses in our child protection system”.

She said: “There is no doubt that Sarah was most severely let down by the safety net of services around her.

“Even before she was born, she was known to social care – and yet she fell so completely off their radar that by the time she died she was invisible to them all.

“We can have no more reviews, no more strategies, no more debate. When we say ‘never again’, we have to mean it – let that be Sarah’s legacy.”

She called for a range of changes, including “appropriate supervision” for home-schooled children like Sarah.

Maria Neophytou, acting chief executive of the NSPCC, said it was an “absolutely shocking case” that raised “key questions” about child protection.

She said: “It is disturbing that Urfan Sharif believed – and told the police – that he had legally punished Sara for being naughty.

“Politicians in Westminster must quickly scrap the reasonable punishment defense and give children the same protection from assault as adults.”

Rachael Wardell, from Surrey County Council, said that until an independent safeguarding review was completed, “the full picture cannot be understood or commented on”.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Lisa Townsend, welcomed the review, saying: “It is clear in this case that calculated attempts were made to ensure Sarah’s continued abuse took place out of sight.

“But there are undoubtedly questions that need to be answered about what could have been done to prevent her death.”

Rachael Wardell, executive director for children, families and lifelong learning at Surrey County Council, said: “Sarah’s death is incredibly distressing and we share our deep horror at the horrific details that emerged during the trial. We cannot begin to fathom the suffering that poor Sarah endured at the hands of her family members who were supposed to love, protect and care for her.

“The focus of the trial was on the evidence needed to secure convictions for those responsible for Sarah’s death. This means that until an independent safeguarding audit is completed, the full picture cannot be understood or commented upon.

“What is clear from the evidence we heard in court is that the perpetrators went to extreme lengths to hide the truth from everyone.

“We are resolute in our commitment to safeguarding children and are determined to play a full and active role in the forthcoming review alongside partner agencies, in order to thoroughly understand the wider circumstances surrounding Sarah’s tragic death.”