Child protection sparks political row
Updated on 06 December 2008
Alisha Allen, Baby P and Shannon Matthews are all evidence, say the Tories, of broken Britain's underclass. Labour says that is claptrap.
Channel 4 News brought the Tories and Labour together for a forthright exchange of views, as the issue of child protection remains under intense scrutiny with the launch of yet another serious case review, this time into the death of a baby girl - Alisha Allen - failed by social services.
Yesterday details emerged of how five-month old Alisha Allen was shaken to death by her father during a "sudden loss of control".
The case has parallels to 17-month-old Baby P, who died last year after sustained abuse by his guardians.
But it is the conclusion of the Shannon Matthews case this week, when her mother Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping the little girl, which has provoked most debate about what the Conservatives are calling Britain's 'broken society'.
Shannon Matthews was being raised by a mother who had seven children by five fathers, in a home life described as squalid and dysfunctional. But does it really reflect social breakdown in Britain's most deprived areas? And if so, are things getting worse?
Alex Thomson spoke to the Tory MP, Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the Centre for Social Justice and the Labour MP Barry Sheerman, who chairs the Commons children, schools and families select committee.
