File on girl 'closed despite abuse fear'

Child protection officials closed their file on a two-year-old girl who was allegedly tortured and starved to death by her parents, despite being alerted to concerns about the girl's safety, a nurse told the Old Bailey yesterday.

Leanne Labonte, 20, and her partner Dennis Henry, 39, of Plaistow, east London, deny manslaughter and child cruelty. Ms Labonte's daughter, Ainlee Walker, died in January this year.

Anne Morgan, a child protection nurse, told the court that a file on Ainlee was closed in June 2000 despite her concerns. Newham Social Services did not reply to a letter she sent asking why it had been done. Mrs Morgan said she was told by the acting team manager of Newham Social Services, Sam Agyei, that the child protection team was closing the case.

Ms Morgan told the court: "I wrote to Sam asking him to reconsider and copied it to other members of social services... I didn't get a response. No reply at all."

The trial heard there were growing concerns at Ainlee's "failure to thrive" and the way the family repeatedly failed to make hospital appointments or attend health clinics. Ainlee's parents had to change doctors after trouble at a local surgery and were allocated a series of health visitors following angry disagreements.

Annie Shiels, a Newham health visitor, said she had arranged to see the family in a local health centre in June 2000. But, she said, they came for one appointment, and then failed to respond to letters. She was told later that the family had been referred back to the central assessment team and a new health visitor was appointed in November.

Earlier, Professor Jonathan Sibert, a child specialist, told the court that Ainlee's behaviour had resembled that of an African famine victim by the time she died. He said she had suffered "the most appalling neglect" before her death, and suffered injuries including cigarette burns. She weighed nearly 3kg (7lb) less than she should have, he said.

The trial continues on Monday.