16 November - There but for the grace of Bexley’s Guardian Angel
Most people will have some recollection of the 2009 case of Baby P (Peter
Connelly) who died in his Haringey home from neglect and abuse after that
Council’s Social Services turned a blind eye. His mother spent 13 years in prison. Not so well known is that at the same
time Bexley Council had a similar case in the form of Rhys Lawrie. Despite being
referred to Bexley Council by both GPs and school teachers Rhys died with 39
injuries to his tiny body. (Shocking pictures here.)
Bexley Council successfully excused their lack of involvement and appointed a
previous senior manager in Bexley to author the Serious Case review. He had worked alongside some of those who failed young Rhys.
The responsible Cabinet Member refused to answer questions relating to that appointment. The story is related in somewhat gory detail
elsewhere on Bonkers.
Today’s headlines reminded me of that story. A coroner ruled that two year old Awaab Ishak died because
a housing association refused to attend to the damp and mould in the flat in which he lived with his Sudanese parents.
The
report reminded me not so much of Rhys Lawrie but of L&Q who condemned an old
lady with a multitude of health problems including emphysema to live in a house which was very obviously damp.
They were supported by Bexley Council which washed their hands of the case, dishonestly claiming that all the problems were resolved.
I visited the premises half a dozen times and it was little better than a slum
and was occasionally very concerned for the lady’s health. I was surprised when I
learned that far from being older than I am as I had imagined was in fact quite a lot younger. Bad housing had taken its toll on her.
I really must make another visit because there has been no response to email or text message which was the usual means of communications.
To be honest I fear the worst. Do we have another old lady killed by Bexley Council?
