Charity chief says Brandon killing predictable

A Dundee child protection worker today said she strongly believed Brandon Muir’s killing was both predictable and preventable.

Laurie Matthew, co-ordinator of Dundee personal safety and abuse prevention charity 18 & Under, said it was her opinion the twin inquiries into the 23-month-old’s killing had been a whitewash.

Her comments echo those made in the Tele by Brandon’s aunt Dayna Garty, who said the conclusion the youngster’s death could not have been predicted was a “red herring.”

Former Fife Chief Constable Peter Wilson and independent social work consultant Jimmy Hawthorn conducted the reviews into Brandon’s death and their findings were published jointly on Wednesday.

Ms Matthew said in her mind the only thing certain about the Brandon case review was the fact the finger of blame would not be pointed at anyone in particular.

She said, “A child dies — who is responsible? I know the guy who did it was responsible but social workers were involved (prior to Brandon’s death) and that is very worrying.

“It seems we go from this child’s death to the next one and to the next one. We have all these inquiries and they come up with this and that, but at the end of the day nothing changes.

“I think it is outrageous. The child was known to everybody so you couldn’t say it was unpredictable. If you had a so-called “normal” family with no social work input then that is unpredictable.

“Brandon’s death wasn’t, how could it be? The only thing that was predictable was the outcome (of the report) — it was always going to be it wasn’t their fault.

“I do believe it was a whitewash. Somebody should have taken responsibility for this and not just the person that killed that child.

“I would respect them more if they they’d said they were too busy or were up to their knees in paperwork.

“What would you do if you got a call (about a child in danger). I know I’d go right up there.”

Ms Matthew said it was imperative things did change in the wake of the Brandon scandal and she said a greater willingness amongst the general public to get involved when they suspected a child was in a vulnerable situation would go a long way to help.

She said, “We have got to find a solution to stop this happening again. It is everybody’s business to make sure kids are safe. If it is left just to social services, and nobody is talking to social services, then how can we protect kids? They can’t work in a vacuum.”