Whitewash in Hamzah probe

It is quite staggering, for instance, that the serious case review into the death of Bradford four-year-old Hamzah Khan has concluded that this was a “unique combination of events” because his mother, Amanda Hutton, was determined not to co-operate with social workers and other agencies.

Surely the appalling death of Peter Connolly, otherwise known as Baby P, in 2007, had demonstrated only too starkly what can happen when an obstructive parent goes unchallenged?

And despite the claims made yesterday, there were any number of warning signs as to the plight faced by Hamzah and his siblings.

One of his brothers complained to police and social services about physical and emotional abuse. Police notified social services of domestic violence at the address and that at least one of the children didn’t have a bed. Three of Hamzah’s siblings were not collected from primary school and a home visit found Hutton under the influence of an unknown substance.

Hamzah himself was last seen by a health professional when he was just three weeks old. At 15 months, he was finally registered with a GP, but did not attend a single appointment or receive any immunisations.

The list goes on: a health visitor who attempted to see Hamzah had the door slammed in her face and again contacted social services. Others who tried to check on the youngster’s wellbeing were fobbed off with threadbare excuses.

Taken in isolation, these incidents may not have been enough to trigger an intervention – and social workers have to tread a careful line when deciding whether to step in. Yet, collectively, they represented a clear red flag that demanded decisive action.

Four years after his death, it is scandalous that all the risks Hamzah faced during his short life have only now been pulled together.

There can be no guarantee that this sort of tragedy will never happen again, but in failing to address the glaring shortcomings of those tasked with protecting such vulnerable children, it is hard to escape the feeling that this serious case review amounts to little more than a whitewash and the Department for Education is right to demand answers to the many burning questions Bradford’s authorities have ignored.

Ten years too late: Labour apologises over migration

IF the decision in 2004 to drop immigration restrictions on eastern European migrants was a “spectacular mistake” – Jack Straw’s mea culpa as he prepares to stand down from Parliament at the next election – why is Labour only holding its hands up now? Why did Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments ignore all those who warned of the social and economic consequences of this open door policy?

Mr Straw, the Foreign Secretary at the time, is not the only senior politician to be speaking with the benefit of hindsight.

His successor at the Home Office, South Yorkshire MP David Blunkett, predicts an “explosion” unless there are checks on the influx of Roma migrants who are now entering Britain, including a group of Slovakians who have set up a camp in his home city of Sheffield. And this is before New Year’s Day, when Bulgarians and Romanians will be allowed to enter Britain following the latest relaxation of EU restrictions.

This is not to say that Britain should discourage all forms of immigration. Quite the opposite. Take migrant labour out of the National Health Service and Yorkshire’s hospitals will struggle to function.

Similarly, the work ethic of many new arrivals in a wide range of jobs is to be applauded.

But these two interventions do clarify

one point – the fault clearly rests with Labour rather than David Cameron’s coalition.

Jump jockey wins his greatest fight

THAT AP McCoy, the record-breaking jump jockey who has just ridden his 4,000th winner, has likened Brian Toomey to “an ironman” is testimony to the North Yorkshire’s rider’s remarkable recovery from near-death.

Even doctors did not expect the likable 24-year-old to survive his injuries after he was pitched head-first into the ground. But their bleak prognosis did not count on the brilliance of the NHS surgeons who treated the rider – and the fortitude of the jockey’s weighing room colleagues who maintained a bedside vigil as he, slowly, began to win his greatest race – the race for life.

Led by the magical McCoy, they’re a very special band of brothers. Rivals on the track, they’re the best of friends off the course and acutely aware of the sport’s risks – Toomey’s cousin JT McNamara was paralysed by a fall in March.

But their medical treatment has been transformed by the invaluable work of the Injured Jockeys Fund which is now building a rehabilitation centre in Malton to mark its 50th anniversary. In a county where racing has a rich tradition, this much-needed facility will be a fitting tribute to the IJF’s tireless fundraiser Jack Berry.