The cycle of violence authorities can't stop

The attacks that shocked Britain: Full coverage

Sue Berelowitz said it was important to look at what drives children to commit such crimes to prevent further cases.

She said: "It is absolutely right that the boys who perpetrated the crimes have been held to account for them and that they will be held in secure custody where they will receive help to face up to their actions and turn around their lives.

"It is also important to look at what drives children to commit such crimes so that we help to prevent similar cases in the future.

"Like so many other young people who offend, the indications are that these boys grew up in households where they were themselves severely abused and neglected.

"The best way to end these cycles of violence is to ensure that the relevant services respond quickly and effectively when children are seen to be at risk.

"If reports of the serious case review in the newspapers are accurate, there is no doubt that support services missed many chances to identify these brothers as being capable of committing appalling crimes and this is of deep concern.

"People working with children must regard child abuse as a critical risk factor in relation to violent offending behaviour.

"There is a large body of research to substantiate this with evidence showing that approximately 60% of the young people in the criminal justice system have experienced abuse."

She added: "No-one can fail to have been shocked by the crimes that the two boys in Edlington committed and our primary concern is for the victims who were attacked.

"I very much hope that with the support of their families they are recovering from their terrible ordeal."

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said his response was the same as many families across Britain and this was a "terrible" offence.

He said: "It's hard to comprehend how children could do such terrible things to other innocent children and the judge has given an indeterminate sentence.

"These are children who, to be honest, have been deeply damaged by years of abuse - physical abuse, seeing their mother being struck by their father, but also abuse against them. But that's no excuse for what they did.

"What we've now got to do is make sure that in custody they get the support to try and turn things round for them and we also learn lessons in Doncaster so that in future we don't have a repeat of such a terrible, unusual and horrific case."

Speaking after the news conference, Caroline Flint, the Labour MP for Don Valley, which includes Edlington, said she did not think the apology by the interim director of Doncaster's social services, Nick Jarman, would be enough for the families.

"The victims of this crime have experienced such a terrible 90 minutes of torture and sadism," she said.

"As a mother, trying to comprehend how I would react if it was one of my children... I think the families would want to know is there going to be action taken against individuals?

"There's a corporate responsibility... I think people want to know, are there individuals who did not fulfil their duties?"

Ms Flint said a number of changes and improvements had been made within Doncaster Council and the Safeguarding Children Board and described this as "reassuring".

But she added: "It's not over yet. Whatever changes are happening in Doncaster, we need to look at the outcomes to make sure this kind of thing, wherever possible, does not happen again."

Commenting on the sentences handed to the two brothers, Ms Flint said: "I think the sentence reflects the serious nature of the crime and I think the judge's comments do as well.

"The fact it was an indeterminate sentence sends out a strong message."

She added that "serious problems" would need to be addressed while the boys were in custody.

NSPCC chief executive Andrew Flanagan said: "This country has not seen such acts of schoolboy savagery for many years.

"The violent and sadistic tendencies of these brothers grew unchecked over several years - leaving destruction and despair in their wake.

"The case raises serious questions about how children can be left to drift in homes seriously damaged by violence and neglect.

"Where families cannot give their children a decent start in life, the authorities need to act swiftly and robustly - both for their sake and the rest of society."