The case of Keanu Williams makes Mandatory Reporting more important

Keanu Williams was found dead with 37 injuries including bite marks, a fractured skull and a fist-sized tear in his stomach in January 2011. He was left for dead by his mother Rebecca Shuttleworth for over 18 hours because the injuries she had inflicted upon him could not be explained away.

On 25th June 2013 she was given a life sentence by Birmingham Crown Court and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years. Her partner Luke Southerton was convicted of cruelty but cleared of murder.

The serious case review will be published at 11am today but is embargoed until 11am to a locked room of journalists in order to make sure it is not leaked.

I am about to go on BBC News 24 & Radio 5 to get the message across. Hopefully we can divert the media to dealing with the point, and encourage politicians to change the law.

From reports of the criminal trial it is likely that it will be said that a lot of opportunities will be missed by the services to:-

1. Take him into care and away from his parents by Social Services.
2. Report obvious signs of abuse so as to avoid the death which occurred.
3. Police, Social Services, his school, and the NHS apparently all had contact with him, but only saw pieces of the jigsaw. The bits were never joined up until his mother finally exploded and beat him to death.

Mandatory Reporting is the obvious answer

1. Make failure to report actual or suspected abuse a criminal offence
2. Limit it to professionals carrying out a regulated activity ie. looking after children.
3. Bring England into line with the USA where it has been the law since 1963, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Northern & Southern Ireland, and many other countries.

We have a petition you can sign -  http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/educationgovuk-introduce-law-requiring-adults-working-with-children-to-report-alleged-abuse-mandatenow