Warnings on tragic toddler dismissed as gossip

Sanam Navsarka, of Huddersfield, died on May 8, 2008, following weeks of appalling abuse in which she suffered more than 100 injuries.

Subhan Anwar was jailed for a minimum of 23 years for her murder, while her mother, Zahbeena Navsarka, was jailed for nine years after being found guilty of the two-year-old's manslaughter.

Judyth Kenworthy, of Kirklees Council, admitted she failed to pass on warnings on May 1, 2008, from Jacqueline Peel, who ran a home for vulnerable people, that the girl had a bruise on her head.

Mrs Peel was alerted to the toddler's injury when the girl's aunt took her to stay at the home. Mrs Peel told the General Social Care Council (GSCC) hearing in London that the aunt said Sanam was often injured after being left with her sister's partner, Anwar.

"I know she did say, that every day the sister left the little girl with this man, there were marks," she told the hearing. Mrs Peel also told investigators that the injury was discussed with Mrs Kenworthy at the end of a meeting.

Marios Lambis, for the GSCC, said: "With that rather startling and worrying information brought to her, the registrant (Mrs Kenworthy) simply told Mrs Peel that Ms C (the aunt) should talk to someone if she had concerns about the child. It could be said that Mrs Kenworthy was passing the buck."

He added: "The way in which this information was reported, coupled with Jacqueline Peel's tendency to tittle tattle, didn't make Mrs Kenworthy feel that there was an immediate risk."

As Mrs Peel was giving evidence, Mr Lambis said: "Mrs Kenworthy suggested that you often passed information about others to her and the possible effect was she couldn't take it seriously because you tittle tattled about other people constantly to her."

When asked if this was a fair criticism, Mrs Peel replied: "I don't really know. I only told her about people in the home if something was happening that shouldn't have been happening."

Although her statement to police mentioned she had told Mrs Kenworthy that Sanam had been locked in a cupboard, she was now "not sure" if this was true.

Mrs Kenworthy, of The Knowle, Shepley, Huddersfield, agrees that as a result of her actions no measures were taken to safeguard Sanam, and she also admits withholding information when she gave a statement to police. She denies Mrs Peel told her that Sanam had been locked in a cupboard.

Mr Lambis said: "It is impossible to speculate what may have happened if Mrs Kenworthy had reported these matters and whether Child A (Sanam) could have been saved.

"What is certain here, and can be seen, is by not doing her duties correctly, that child was denied of a tier of protection that she was entitled to and so Kirklees Council and the police were denied information which may have protected the child."

He added: "The facts in this case also show that in truth, you must not permit the experience of training to usurp common sense or overturn established practice."

The trial of Navsarka and Anwar at Bradford Crown Court in 2009 heard two-year-old Sanam, who had fractures to all four limbs, died after fatty deposits from her broken thigh bones entered her bloodstream.

The misconduct hearing continues today.