Sutton Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) Issued on day of the verdict
SSCB publishes serious case review report in relation to Ellie Butler The Sutton Safeguarding Children Board (SSCB) has today published the serious case review report relating to the tragic death of Ellie Butler. The 58 page report was commissioned by the SSCB and was independently authored by Marion Davis CBE, former President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services. The report covers the period between January 2000 and October 2013. Highlights of the report include the following timeline of events and key findings: Timeline of Events February 2007: Whilst in the sole care of her father, Ellie (aged 6 weeks old), was found to be ‘suddenly soft and limp’ and scans found that she had suffered injuries including subdural haematomas, retinal haemorrhages and seizures. March 2007: Ellie became subject to an interim care order and was placed in foster care. In June 2007, Ellie was placed in the care of her grandparents. January 2008: The Family Court found that, on the balance of probability, Ben Butler caused the February 2007 injury and Jennie Gray failed to protect Ellie. March 2009: Ben Butler was convicted of grievous bodily harm on Ellie and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He had a history of offending and violence. June 2010: Ben Butler’s criminal conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal on the basis of new medical evidence. May 2012 to July 2012: The Family Court overturned the previous Finding of Fact (when Sutton Council secured an interim care order to protect Ellie from her parents). It decided that there was insufficient evidence, on the balance of probability, that Ben Butler had injured Ellie in February 2007.
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The Family Court also went much further than the Appeal Court ruling and stated that ‘any injury caused was purely accidental’. It also found that Ben Butler should be exonerated and that he had been a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Sutton Council strongly contested the Family Court’s subsequent decision to have Ellie and her younger sibling placed in her parents’ care. The Judge appointed an independent social work agency called Services for Children to assess and oversee the children moving to their parents’ care. Services for Children were accountable to the Family Court. The children were not subject to any court orders. As a result, agencies were effectively prevented by the Family Court from having any further involvement with the placement of the children with Ben Butler and Jennie Gray. The Family Court also directed Sutton Council to send a letter to all agencies to inform them of Ben Butler’s exoneration. The Family Court directed that this letter should be prominently referenced in each agency’s file. Agencies included were all professional, educational, medical and social care bodies. The Judge concluded that not only was she satisfied that Ben Butler had never caused harm to his daughter, in fact there was an innocent explanation for his daughter’s injuries. In reaching this conclusion, the Judge had Ben Butler’s previous convictions before her. October/November 2012 : Both children were placed in their parents’ care, with Ellie placed with them one month after her younger sibling. March 2013: Services for Children concluded their work with the family and filed their final report to the court in April 2013. October 2013: Ellie died and her younger sibling was placed in care. Key Findings This was an exceptionally unusual case because of factors which include the following: 1. The extreme level of avoidance, deception and resistance from the parents, who were often evasive, contradictory and aggressive and who regularly resorted to complaints and threats. 2. The use of an independent social work agency in the assessment and the management of the reunification of the children with their parents, and the exclusion of the Local Authority (Sutton Council) from this role. 3. Despite a significant range of concerns and worrying incidents (albeit below the threshold for statutory intervention) being documented by agencies before and after Ellie went to live with her parents, the effect of the court judgement and exoneration, combined with the parents’ refusal of any voluntary engagement with support services, meant that no intervention that might have made a difference was possible. 2
In line with statutory guidance, all agencies were asked to provide an independent management review (IMR) of their involvement in this case. However, two IMRs were not provided. The Judiciary declined to provide an IMR and supplied the Family Court judgements. Services for Children did not provide an IMR and instead supplied a management review they carried out themselves. Christine Davies CBE, Independent Chair of the Sutton Safeguarding Children Board, said: ‘We are all deeply saddened by the death of Ellie Butler. The death of any child is always tragic but more so in these circumstances. Ellie was harmed by her parents, the very people who were supposed to protect her and keep her safe. The serious case review concluded that the Family Court’s decision to exonerate Ben Butler of harming Ellie in 2007, combined with its subsequent order for agencies to be sent a letter to that effect, had a very significant impact on how agencies could protect his children from that point in time onwards. Ben Butler’s exoneration and the Judge’s statement about him being a victim of a miscarriage of justice had the effect of handing all the power to the parents. This coupled with the assessment made by Services for Children to support Ellie and her sibling to be cared for by their parents were critical factors. It was not possible for the serious case review to gain greater insight into the decisions of the Family Court, as the Judiciary did not provide an independent management review of its involvement. Similarly, although Services for Children contributed to the serious case review, they were unable to produce an independent management review in line with statutory guidance.’ Notes to Editors Christine Davies CBE, Independent Chair of the Sutton Safeguarding Children Board, and Marion Davis CBE, independent author of the serious case review, are available for interview by appointment. For more information, or to book an interview, contact Andreas Christophorou on 07931464843 or email
[email protected] The serious case review report can be found at http://www.suttonlscb.org.uk/seriouscasereviews.php
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Definitions 1. LSCB: It stands for Local Safeguarding Children Board. It is a requirement of the Children Act 2004 for each local authority to have a Children Safeguarding Board in place to oversee the safeguarding arrangements in a local area across a range of partner agencies. 2. SCR: It stands for Serious Case Review which is undertaken by Local Safeguarding Children Boards in cases where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and either a child dies or is seriously harmed. 3. Threshold: This term describes the level of risk a child is or likely to be exposed to, on the balance of probability. 4. Finding of Fact: This describes a decision made in the Family Court setting and it relates to whether an event has taken place on the balance of probability.
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