THE VICTORIA CLIMBIÉ INQUIRY Chairman: Lord Laming REPORT THE VICTORIA CLIMBIÉ INQUIRY REPORT OF AN INQUIRY BY LORD LAMING Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty January 2003 CM 5730 © Crown Copyright 2003 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown Copyright and the title of the document specified. Any enquiries relating to the copyright in this document should be addressed to The Licensing Division, HMSO, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. Fax: 01603-723000 or email:
[email protected] Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP Secretary of State for Health Rt Hon David Blunkett MP Home Secretary Dear Secretaries of State, In April 2001, you asked me to chair an Independent Statutory Inquiry following the death of Victoria Climbié, and to make recommendations as to how such an event may, as far as possible, be avoided in the future. I am pleased to submit my report to you. I appointed four expert assessors to assist me in my task. They were Dr Nellie Adjaye, Mr John Fox, Mrs Donna Kinnair and Mr Nigel Richardson. I take responsibility for this report and I am pleased that my four colleagues who sat with me fully endorse its findings and its recommendations. Yours sincerely, LORD LAMING DR NELLIE ADJAYE MR JOHN FOX MRS DONNA KINNAIR MR NIGEL RICHARDSON “I have suffered too much grief in setting down these heartrending memories.