Arthur’s maternal grandmother, Madeleine Halcrow (Jacob King/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)The maternal grandmother of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes on Tuesday recalled the last time she saw the six-year-old, saying that the “sparkle had gone from his eyes”.
Arthur was tortured and killed by his stepmother and father in June last year.
Emma Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry crown court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of murder. His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter.
Madeleine Halcrow broke down in tears as she gave her first TV interview Tuesday morning and recalled their last encounter.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, she said: “He was always happy and that’s why I called him Sunny Delight... I saw him on October 21, [2019], which was my birthday. He’d lost the sparkle in his eyes.”
The boy’s father later prevented Mrs Halcrow from seeing Arthur again as he pleaded to stay with her rather than go in the car with his father and stepmother.
TV presenter Susanna Reid was also moved to tears during the interview, telling her: “Your strength is incredibly inspiring for people, we wish you all the love in the world.”
Ofsted will now lead an inspection of all the services involved with child protection in Solihull following the death of Arthur.
Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said Ofsted will start work on the probe next week.
She said his“callous murder” was an “awful tragedy and like everyone else our thoughts are with everyone who loved him. It’s a terrible, terrible case”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ll be looking at… What improvements can be made.”
