Full disclosure of past tragedies will be damaging, warns sector

In his first interview as the minister responsible for safeguarding children, Tim Loughton confirmed to CYP Now that the government would publish retrospectively the full serious case reviews of the four cases, which attracted widespread media attention.

Both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have said all along they would publish forthcoming reviews in full. But Nushra Mansuri, professional officer at the British Association of Social Workers, warned against revisiting old cases.

"So much was said and so many high emotions were running at the time of the cases, all this can do is resurrect some of that," she said.

While agreeing that current publications of serious case reviews do not go far enough in helping professionals improve practice, including the initial report into the Baby Peter case, Mansuri questioned the thinking behind opening up past reports.