Following the conviction of Ben Butler for the murder of his daughter and the publication of a Serious Case Review, Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield said:
“This was a deeply tragic and troubling sequence of events in which this little girl deserved much better. I’m concerned that all the circumstances in this family, which included violence, aggression and habitual evasion of any engagement with local services, may not have been fully considered when custody was awarded, despite custody being objected to by local children’s services, the police and Ellie’s grandparents.
“There remain a number of unanswered questions regarding this judgment. The role of the judiciary and their involvement in providing information to serious case reviews needs to be looked at as part of ongoing reform.”