Petition for national public inquiry into Preston Davey safeguarding failures delivered to Prime Minister

Today The Gazette took the fight for little Preston Davey all the way to Downing Street.

Armed with the voices of more than 120,500 supporters, we delivered our petition calling for a national public inquiry into the safeguarding failures that cost the 13-month-old baby boy his life to the Prime Minister in London.

Vanessa Sims, editor of The Gazette alongside Blackpool South MP Chris Webb, Blackpool-born former Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp, and campaigner Paula Hudgell helped little Preston have a voice.

The youngster was murdered by the man who was in the process of adopting him. The man he came to know as ‘dad’.

Less than four months after moving in with his adopted dads in Staining Road, Staining, little Preston was sexually abused, physically assaulted, and left with more than 40 non-accidental injuries. He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times. Social workers visited regularly. His abusers even admitted to having dark thoughts about him. And still, nothing stopped it.

Killer ex-South Shore Academy teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to a whole life order for murder, child cruelty, sexual offences and indecent images relating to Preston. His now ex-partner and financial salesman, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual assault.

Vanessa Sims, editor of The Gazette, said: “What happened to little Preston has deeply affected everyone who heard his story. In just eight weeks, our call for a national public inquiry has been backed by 120,500 people as well as a series of high profile campaigners and celebrities.

“The question we desperately need answering is how a baby boy in the care of the state could be so badly let down by every system designed to protect him. This is why taking the fight for Preston directly to the Prime Minister was essential.

“We hope Andy Burnham seizes the opportunity to make a lasting difference by committing to a full, statutory national public inquiry into Preston’s death and the safeguarding failures it exposed.

“Only a statutory national public inquiry has the powers necessary to compel witnesses, obtain all relevant evidence and provide the public with confidence that the full truth has been uncovered.

“Preston’s death cannot be viewed as an isolated tragedy. Across our country, vulnerable children continue to suffer abuse, neglect and cruelty behind closed doors. Too often, warning signs are missed, concerns are not joined together and opportunities to intervene are lost.

“The central question is whether the failings exposed by Preston’s death are unique to this case or are symptoms of wider weaknesses in our safeguarding system.

“The day before Preston was seen at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, warning signs to help another little boy in the care system were missed. Little Damion Russell was murdered by his father despite being seen by medics less than a month earlier with unexplained injuries.

“For Preston, and for every vulnerable child who depends upon us to keep them safe, we must learn from what happened and prevent it from happening again.”

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb has thrown his full support behind the campaign for little Preston. He said: “We're here today at Downing Street alongside the Gazette to deliver our petition asking for a national public inquiry into the awful death of Preston Davey.

“My residents and thousands across the country have made their voices heard asking for this public inquiry - yes, we've got local [inquiries], but we really need government to give us the money to get to the heart of how this tragedy happened to make sure it never happens again for any young person."

The Gazette’s campaign has been backed by Preston's birth parents Sarah Davey and Gary Nolan as well as celebrity campaigners including global superstar Ellie Goulding, the wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson Carrie Johnson, Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp, campaigner Paula Hudgell, high profile campaigner Hetti Barkwood-Nanton, Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge, and Laura Trott MP Shadow Education Secretary.

Blackpool-born actress and presenter Nicola Thorp said: “We're calling for a national statutory public inquiry and calling for change. We believe that only a national inquiry could do the job because, although we area aware of local inquiries, it's another case of people marking their own homework, so we think a national statutory inquiry is the only way forward.

"I'm a mum of a two-year-old, my daughter was born in the same hospital that Preston sadly passed away in, and - whether or not you are a parent - it pulled at everybody's heartstrings to think 'my gosh, there were so many opportunities - at least 8 - for Preston's life to have been saved'.

“We want to really dig into the reasons behind that and make sure it doesn't ever happen to another child again."

Prominent campaigner Paula Hudgell who along with her son managed to convince the government to establish a child cruelty register joined The Gazette at 10 Downing Street today.

Inspirational Paula Hudgell and her adopted son Tony, 11, fought and won to establish tougher, lasting consequences for parents and caregivers who physically harm children.

When Tony was just 41 days old, he was brutally beaten by his birth parents and left with fractures all over his body. He was left for up to 10 days without medical help and tragically, as a result of the abuse, Tony lost both of his legs.

Paula and her husband Mark fought for four years to get his birth parents convicted, and they were eventually given the maximum sentence available at the time, which was 10 years.

After that, they campaigned for Tony’s Law, which helped increase sentences for child cruelty offences. It is because of the Hudgell family Preston Davey’s killer and abuser Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley were given such long sentences.

This year, after eight years of campaigning, the Child Cruelty Offender Register was finally agreed and made law.

Helping fight for justice for Preston Davey, Paula Hudgell said: "I'm here today to help deliver the petition for a statutory national inquiry in the case of Preston Davey. All these cases are very close to my heart - my adopted son himself was abused as a baby and wasn't expected to survive either and, as a result, lost both of his legs.

“The Preston Davey case is probably the most horrific, horrendous, heinous case I've been following - I've managed to change a law for sentencing, so that's why I follow these cases.

“I think it's absolutely hit everybody how sad this case was and how it's affected the whole nation and that's why it need a national public inquiry rather than just a local inquiry where it's all swept under the carpet like Tony's case was."

What is the petition calling for?

The petition is calling on a national public inquiry to answer the following questions:

- Why were repeated warning signs - three hospital admissions, an abuser's own admission of dark thoughts, routine social worker contact - not acted on?

- Should children placed outside their home authority automatically be assigned a local social worker with direct oversight of their care?

- How are repeat hospital admissions for children in care shared between the NHS, the placing authority, and the authority where the child lives?

- Are adoption vetting procedures rigorous enough to stop prospective adopters hiding behind a false front?

We need you to sign this petition and demand the government acts.

Join our calls for a public inquiry by signing our change.org petition here