A Child Practice Report into the events surrounding the murder of 5-year-old Logan Mwangi was published by Cwm Taf Morgannwg’s Safeguarding Board yesterday (pdf).
Couched in the report’s formal language is a damning conclusion. Muddled decision-making, poor information sharing and a failure to put 2+2 together left an already vulnerable boy in a dangerous situation that was allowed to boil over and, ultimately, led to his murder.
Names have been redacted in the report, though it’s easy to figure out who’s who: Logan Mwangi is “Child T”, Angharad Williamson is “Mother”, John Cole is “Adult A” and Craig Mulligan is “Child Y”. Cole, Williamson and Mulligan were convicted of Logan’s murder earlier this year and are serving sentences of between 15-29 years.
I don’t see the point in going through all of the events leading to Logan’s murder as they’ve been well documented elsewhere. What’s important is understanding how and why this was allowed to happen.
What new information is there?
- Williamson, Cole, and Craig Mulligan’s biological mother (“Adult B”) were in a polyamorous relationship.
- Cole and Williamson had a child together (“Child A”). Child A was named in some of the child protection procedures alongside Logan Mwangi.
- Cole and Craig Mulligan’s mother received help from social services in England between 2014-2017. They moved to Wales in 2017 as a result of a house swap despite neither of them having any local connections.
- There was a history of violence between Craig Mulligan and his biological mother (which, with cruel irony, eventually lead to a child protection procedure). Social services in England had concerns about Craig Mulligan’s bullying and “sexualised behaviour towards other children” too.
- In August 2020, Logan Mwangi was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital with a suspected dislocated/broken arm. However, later investigations revealed multiple – mainly bruise – injuries to other parts of his body. This information wasn’t shared outside the health board.
- A Paediatric Consultant believed the injuries were accidental, blamed by Williamson on injuries caused by Logan’s temper tantrums.
- Police visited the home and “reported no concerns in relation to the home conditions and the explanations provided were consistent with a fall down the stairs (Williamson’s explanation).”Later on, the police and social services agreed to discharge Logan into his mother’s care.
- Cole’s previous criminal convictions for burglary, drug offences, domestic abuse and weapons possession were known to social services in England. It was unclear how Cole was cleared to be a carer for any child.
- Despite police background checks, in May 2021 Bridgend social services and a CAFCASS guardian backed an assessment recommending that John Cole should be Craig Mulligan’s sole caregiver. Within a week of a Child Arrangement Order and Supervision Order being made for Mulligan to live with Cole and Williamson, Logan Mwangi was murdered.
What did the authorities get wrong?
- Agencies didn’t challenge the family’s excessive caution over Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed the family to appear as though they were cooperating when they actually weren’t. Covid-19 restrictions (more generally) prevented agencies from undertaking “optimum” child protection measures via face-to-face visits.
- Logan Mwangi’s other injuries/bruises when taken to hospital in August 2020 should’ve been reported to other agencies and triggered a referral as they’re consistent with injuries commonly seen in child abuse cases.
- Information wasn’t shared properly between different agencies despite the establishment in Bridgend of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) – which is supposed to act as a single child protection enquiries unit and make sharing information and joint working/decision-making easier.
- Despite several adults outside the household having at least some contact with Logan Mwangi, there were no safeguarding concerns raised with the authorities.
- Logan Mwangi’s father wasn’t told of social services’ involvement with his son even though he had a right to be involved.
- There are skill gaps within Bridgend social services in evidence analysis, meaning some decisions were difficult to explain – such as Cole’s criminal convictions “triggering safe care arrangements and this then being stepped down”.
- There wasn’t enough curiosity about Cole’s impact on Williamson and Mulligan’s biological mother – which included recurring themes around coercive control – and racism towards Logan (it’s said Cole is a former member of the National Front).
- There’s a culture in the health board of staff “not challenging the clinical assessments and decisions of senior professionals”; some staff at the Princess of Wales Hospital were concerned about how Logan’s August 2020 visit was managed yet “felt unable to express their concerns”.
What did the authorities get right?
There were examples of what the report describes as “positive practice” by all the agencies involved. These examples include:
- South Wales Police acted in “a timely and sensitive manner” and Logan’s school (Tondu Primary School) were “consistent and persistent” in their efforts to maintain in contact with Logan and his family whilst passing on appropriate referrals.
- When Logan Mwangi attended hospital in 2020 with a broken arm and other injuries, his attendance was flagged to the Health Visiting Service. Also, when the information given by the family was inconsistent, social services returned for follow-up visits to seek further clarification.
- Logan’s Child Protection Report was “accurate and concise” despite the complexity of the case.
What are the recommendations?
There were 15 recommendations, summarised as:
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board should undertake an independent review into how it investigates and identifies “non-accidental injuries” in children. Staff working with children should be made aware of their duty to report concerns around possible abuse, while new guidance on working with patients who have personality disorders should be developed.
- Bridgend Council should overhaul its quality assurance and management oversight in social services and improve how it analyses and manages risk assessments in safeguarding decisions.
- Bridgend Council needs to ensure safeguarding staff are aware of the rights of all people with parental responsibility to be involved in safeguarding decisions. There’s a similar recommendation aimed at the Welsh Government.
- A public awareness campaign on how to report safeguarding concerns should be developed.
- Child Protection Conferences should be overhauled.
- The Welsh Government should undertake a review of how information is gathered by and shared between the police, social services, health boards and schools/education.
