Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, said:
“I will not be alone in being shocked by this crime and my sympathies are with her family and friends at this distressing time.
“Angela’s death is all the more troubling because of its brutality and for the fact that the perpetrators were young teenage girls. Thankfully, it remains very rare for children to commit such awful crimes.
“It is also true that children are not born murderers. Evidence in court tells us there were warning signs and that there would have been many opportunities for individuals, including their parents and authorities responsible for their care, to intervene to turn their lives around. It is a stark warning of the consequences of leaving children with troubled beginnings without the support they need.”