'Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was treated despicably - we must unite to stop it happening again'

Normally if there’s a topic I’m really passionate about, I will post about it on Instagram.

But with the horrific case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, who was killed by his father and stepmother, I just couldn’t find the words to convey how I felt.

The way he was treated was absolutely despicable – and when you see the worst of humanity like this it can make you question a lot of things in life.

Collectively, from the public to the Govern­ment, we need to do every­thing we can to prevent any future such acts of cruelty and injustice.

Social workers are passionate about change, and it’s a really tough job – it is unfair to single out individuals for the death of a child when we need to be looking at society as a whole.

'The way Arthur was treated was absolutely despicable' (Madeleine Halcrow)

I also really welcome the Attorney General’s announcement of a sentence review in the case of little Arthur’s killers.

It highlights a wider issue of the need for tougher sentences on serious crimes.

As I have personally experienced this with sentences for the perpetrators of acid attacks, I feel strongly that there should be a minimum term for serious crimes such as these – with no exceptions.

And we can only hope harsher sentences act as a deterrent to those who would otherwise commit such acts.

The country has united in grief over little Arthur (PA)

Serious crimes are trivialised if sentencing is not tough – it’s vital the justice system places a true value on human life and dignity.

Seeing football stadiums erupt into applause for Arthur in a display of public unity last weekend really touched my heart.

As the public, we have the luxury of hindsight. But by addressing these issues head-on now, we can prevent another tragic case such as little Arthur’s from happening again.