Shannon Matthews kidnap report unlikely until after election

An investigation into why social services failed to prevent one of the most notorious recent cases of child abuse is running a year late and is unlikely to be completed before the election.

The independent inquiry into the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews, 9, in 2008 by a relative in a plan hatched with her mother, Karen, has been running for 14 months with no publication date in sight.

Social workers at Kirklees Borough Council were heavily involved with the Matthews family for 12 years before the kidnapping but Shannon was removed from the at-risk register in about 2003. Local authorities were being urged then to cut the time that children spent on the register.

The Conservatives suspect that the report may be damning to the Labour and Liberal Democrat-run local authority, and that the Government has shelved it until after polling day.

Government guidelines state that serious case reviews should be completed within four months, unless there is a pressing reason, such as a criminal trial, to prevent it. In this case the inquiry did not start until the court case had finished.

Karen Matthews is serving eight years in prison for her role in the kidnap of her daughter, and her former partner’s uncle, Michael Donovan, 40, is also serving an eight-year sentence.

Shannon was found in Donovan’s flat 24 days after she went missing in February 2008.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “The Kirklees safeguarding children board is working to complete the review and we expect an executive summary to be published as soon as possible.”