High-profile mothers including Carrie Johnson, Ellie Goulding and Olivia Colman have written to the Prime Minister calling for a national public inquiry into the 'catastrophic failure' to protect murdered toddler Preston Davey.
Backing a petition so far signed by almost 100,000 people, they are among leading figures asking Sir Keir Starmer to set up a 'thorough and transparent' probe into the 'heartbreaking' series of missed opportunities to save him.
Calling for urgent action, signatories including the 38-year-old wife of former PM Boris Johnson, multi-million-selling singer Ms Goulding, 39, and Oscar-winning actress Ms Colman, 52, say: 'The question that confronts us now is simple: how could this happen?'
The letter is also signed by Sherwood star David Morrissey, an ambassador for domestic violence charity Refuge, and campaigner Paula Hudgell, adoptive mother of Tony Hudgell, who had both legs amputated after abuse by his birth parents as a baby.
It follows an outpouring of horror since 'evil' teacher Jamie Varley, 37 – who was in the process of adopting the 13-month-old - was ordered to spend the rest of his life in jail for sexually abusing and murdering Preston.
His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for allowing Preston's death and participating in a sickening sexual assault on the infant.
Curly-haired Preston was taken from his birth mother, herself a convicted murderer, at just five days old.
'Instagram-ready' dads Varley - a former head of year at a secondary school - and his ex-public schoolboy boyfriend portrayed themselves as doting parents capable of giving Preston a second chance at their Blackpool home.
Yet in the weeks before the 'happy, bubbly' toddler's death, there were a string of warning signs.
Evidence in court revealed at least eight missed opportunities to save Preston Davey
Jamie Varley, 37, subjected Preston to 'unremitting abuse' before murdering the 13-month-old at his home in Blackpool
The infant was taken to hospital three times in quick succession, including with suspicious bruises and a broken elbow.
Meanwhile Varley told a colleague he was having 'dark thoughts' about suffocating or drowning the boy.
He was also seen by a 'battery of professionals' and police were even called in the weeks before his death.
But tragically no one raised the alarm before he was murdered by Varley on July 27, 2023.
A local safeguarding review is examining the tragedy.
However the campaigners say only a national inquiry with power to compel witnesses to give evidence can address fears of UK-wide weaknesses in child protection.
Key concerns include the fact social services in Blackpool were not involved in monitoring Preston as he had been taken into care by counterparts in Oldham, nearly 50 miles away.
Other issues campaigners want addressing are adoption vetting procedures, plus the way in which repeat hospital admissions involving children in care are shared with the authorities.
Carrie Johnson, wife of former PM Boris Johnson, is backing calls for a public inquiry, saying she is 'utterly heartbroken by Preston's story'
Singer and mother of two Ellie Goulding previously said she felt 'absolutely sick to my stomach' when she learnt about Preston Davey's tragic death
Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman, who has three children, is supporting calls for a public inquiry
The letter calls on the PM to establish 'a full, statutory national public inquiry into Preston's death and the wider safeguarding failures it may have exposed across the country'.
The signatories say: 'Like so many people across the country, we have been horrified by what has emerged about Preston's short life and tragic death.'
Mrs Johnson and Ms Goulding told the Daily Mail: 'As mothers of young children, we are utterly heartbroken by Preston's story.
'We cannot stop thinking about the many opportunities there appear to have been to recognise the danger he was in and save him.
'We welcome the child safeguarding practice review, but we believe a statutory national public inquiry is needed to understand whether these failures go beyond Preston's case and to help ensure no other child is let down in the same way.'
Mrs Hudgell said: 'As the adoptive mother of a child who suffered horrific abuse, I have seen first-hand the devastating consequences when vulnerable children are failed by the very systems meant to protect them.
'We need a statutory national public inquiry to establish whether the failings exposed by Preston's death exist elsewhere and to ensure the lasting changes needed to better protect vulnerable children.'
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott, who has also signed the letter, said Preston was 'failed by every safeguard that should have protected him'.
Campaigner Paula Hudgell, adoptive mother of Tony Hudgell, who had both legs amputated after abuse by his birth parents as a baby
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott, who has also signed the letter, said Preston was 'failed by every safeguard that should have protected him'
'Simply seeking reassurances is not good enough,' she added.
'Lessons must be learned properly and no child should ever be let down in this way again.'
The petition was launched by the Blackpool Gazette with backing from Blackpool South Labour MP Chris Webb and Preston's birth parents, Sarah Davey and Gary Nolan.
Saying the 'outpouring of support' for a public inquiry had been 'overwhelming', Mr Webb revealed that the PM had now agreed to discuss it with him.
'We owe it to Preston and every child at risk to establish exactly what went wrong and what must change to ensure this can never happen again,' he said.
'That is why a full statutory national public inquiry is now essential.'
In response to the letter, the Government said it had 'brought in the most far-reaching child protection reforms in a generation' as well as introducing a new Child Protection Authority.
'An independent review has been commissioned by the local authorities and the independent national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will work with them to get to the bottom of this horrifying case,' a spokesperson added.
Dear Prime Minister,
Preston Davey was a little boy who should be alive today.
He should be growing up surrounded by the love and security every child deserves. Instead, his life was cut brutally short after what appears to have been a catastrophic failure by the very systems that exist to protect vulnerable children. Most heartbreaking of all is the suggestion that there were multiple opportunities to recognise the danger he was in and intervene before it was too late.
We are writing to urge you to establish a full, statutory national public inquiry into Preston's death and the wider safeguarding failures it may have exposed across the country.
Like so many people across the country, we have been horrified by what has emerged about Preston's short life and tragic death.
We cannot allow Preston's death to become another tragedy followed by expressions of regret, promises that lessons will be learned and little meaningful change. Without a thorough examination of what happened, there can be no confidence that the necessary lessons will be learned.
A statutory national public inquiry should establish:
* What warning signs were identified and by whom.
* Whether concerns were appropriately recorded, shared and acted upon.
* Whether communication between agencies was adequate and effective.
* Whether existing safeguarding procedures were followed.
* Whether systemic failures contributed to missed opportunities to protect Preston.
* Whether those failings are being replicated elsewhere in the country.
* What reforms are required to prevent similar tragedies in the future, not just in Oldham but across the country.
This is not about blame for its own sake. It is about accountability and ensuring that vulnerable children are better protected in future.
Your career has been defined by a commitment to justice and protecting the vulnerable. Before entering politics, you spent decades working within the justice system, including as Director of Public Prosecutions.
At a moment when attention is understandably focused on political events, we hope you will seize the opportunity to make a lasting difference by committing to a full, statutory national public inquiry into Preston's death and the safeguarding failures it exposed.
This is not an issue that can wait. Every day without answers is another day in which lessons that could protect vulnerable children remain unlearned.
Only a statutory national public inquiry has the powers necessary to compel witnesses, obtain all relevant evidence and provide the public with confidence that the full truth has been uncovered.
Preston's death cannot be viewed as an isolated tragedy. Across our country, vulnerable children continue to suffer abuse, neglect and cruelty behind closed doors. Too often, warning signs are missed, concerns are not joined together and opportunities to intervene are lost.
The central question is whether the failings exposed by Preston's death are unique to this case or are symptoms of wider weaknesses in our safeguarding system.
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review will examine what happened to Preston. A statutory national public inquiry is needed to determine whether those failings exist elsewhere and what national reforms are required to ensure no other child is failed in the same way.
We would also welcome clarification as to what immediate safeguarding measures have been put in place to protect other children in Oldham while the review is under way. To date, it has not been made publicly clear what additional scrutiny, safeguarding checks or oversight have been introduced across local services. Given the serious concerns raised by Preston's case, greater transparency is essential to protect children and restore public confidence.
These concerns reinforce the need for a wider national examination. Any safeguarding weaknesses identified in Preston's case should now be urgently examined across the country to ensure other vulnerable children are not being placed at similar risk.
We must use this horrific crime as a defining moment—one that compels us to confront uncomfortable truths and make lasting changes to the systems designed to protect children.
For Preston, and for every vulnerable child who depends upon us to keep them safe, we must do better.
Yours sincerely,
Paula Hudgell OBE
Ellie Goulding MBE
Carrie Johnson
Olivia Colman CBE
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE
Chris Webb MP
Vanessa Sims (Editor of Blackpool Gazette)
Nicola Thorp
David Morrissey
Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge
Laura Trott MP (Shadow Education Secretary)
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