The government has promised to introduce new child protection measures by March, following the tragic death of 13-month-old Preston Davey, who suffered months of sexual and physical abuse. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated in the House of Commons that the government would do "everything within our power" to prevent another child from enduring such a fate. Her pledge comes after Jamie Varley, 37, received a whole life term for inflicting "unremitting abuse" on Preston, culminating in a fatal sexual assault. Varley's partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the abuse and for allowing Varley's treatment of the child.
During education questions on Monday, Ms Phillipson expressed her relief that "justice has been served," describing the perpetrators as "evil abusers." She committed to rolling out new safeguards contained within the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. This announcement followed pressure from Helen Hayes, Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood and Chairwoman of the Education Committee, who urged ministers to provide a timetable for implementing "multi-agency child protection teams in every local authority area." Ms Hayes highlighted the "serious safeguarding failings in Preston's case and other recent cases" as a critical reason for swift action.
Ms Phillipson acknowledged the "shocking case" and conveyed thoughts to all who loved Preston. She assured the House that the matter was being taken "extremely seriously," confirming that independent experts have been tasked with examining Oldham Council, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and a regional adoption agency. This review aims to scrutinise "all of the issues and concerns that have been raised through this process." Additionally, a child safeguarding practice review is set to begin, spearheaded by the local safeguarding partnership in collaboration with the national child safeguarding practice review, to ensure its quality and thoroughness.
Suella Braverman, Reform UK's education spokeswoman, raised concerns about why alarms were not raised by the "army of health visitors, social workers and medics who saw baby Preston." She also questioned what immediate actions were being taken to safeguard children currently under the care of Oldham Council. In response, Ms Phillipson reiterated that updating legislation to enhance child safety was an "urgent priority for this incoming Government." She concluded by stating, "We can't bring Preston back, but we can make sure that we do everything within our power to stop this happening to other children in future."
The implementation of these new safeguards is expected to lead to more robust and coordinated efforts across local authorities to protect vulnerable children. The independent reviews into the involved organisations will scrutinise past practices and aim to identify systemic failures that allowed Preston's abuse to go unnoticed. This commitment from the government signals an intention to learn from this devastating case and strengthen the national framework for child safeguarding.