Arthur Labinjo-Hughes died in June 2020 after suffering an ‘unsurvivable’ brain injury. Today, hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects for the six-year-old child

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Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Balloons are released in remembrance

Hundreds of people gathered this afternoon to pay tribute to little Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and show he was loved.

The six-year-old was died after suffering an “unsurvivable” brain injury while the country was on lockdown.

His father Thomas Hughes and stepmother Emma Tustin have been jailed this week.

Today, a large crowd gathered in Solihull, West Midlands, releasing balloons for Arthur.

Everyone present then started applauding after standing in silence to remember the child, Birmingham Live reports.

The gathering was organised by Kerry Vines, a resident of Cranmore Road, where Arthur lost his life, who said: “It’s about showing Arthur that we are all thinking of him, and he was a very loved little boy.

“It will also be a celebration of his life. He finally got the justice he deserved.”

It comes as the Government confirmed a major review into the circumstances which led to the murder of Arthur.

It aims to determine what improvements are needed by the agencies that came into contact with the child in the months before he was murdered by stepmother Emma Tustin at their home in Solihull.

The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will lead the review and will provide additional support to Solihull Children’s Safeguarding Partnership to “upgrade” the already existing local review which was launched shortly after Arthur’s death in June 2020.

The action comes after it emerged in court the boy had been seen by social workers just two months before his death, but they concluded there were “no safeguarding concerns”.

Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of his murder, while his father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “Arthur’s murder has shocked and appalled the nation.

“I am deeply distressed by this awful case and the senseless pain inflicted on this poor boy, who has been robbed of the chance to live his life.

“I have taken immediate action and asked for a joint inspection to consider where improvements are needed by all the agencies tasked with protecting children in Solihull, so that we can be assured that we are doing everything in our power to protect other children and prevent such evil crimes.

“Given the enormity of this case, the range of agencies involved and the potential for its implications to be felt nationally, I have also asked Annie Hudson, chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, to work with leaders in Solihull to deliver a single, national review of Arthur’s death to identify where we must learn from this terrible case.

“We are determined to protect children from harm and where concerns are raised we will not hesitate to take urgent and robust action.

“We will not rest until we have the answers we need.”

The Children’s Commissioner for England added the voices of children “must” be listened to in the wake of Arthur’s murder.

Dame Rachel de Souza said more must be done to support social workers to spot similar cases, but the coronavirus lockdown has “weakened” the system.

She told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “First, I think it’s so important we’re here talking about Arthur’s case. The life of a child is of inestimable value and his voice was not heard and that’s where we need to start.

“Obviously, there’s a serious case review underway and we need to see what that says but we must take decisive action and now.

“Now, my concern is that here we are 20 years since this post was set up and we’re still having these cases and there are two things that I think we absolutely have to do and do now.

“One, Arthur raised concerns, he was not a baby, he was six years old, he raised concerns and the system did not hear him.

“We must listen to the voices of children and secondly, no doubt with these reviews and national reviews that are absolutely right that they happen, they tend to make the same recommendations. It’s not a matter of system recommendations, it’s a matter of delivery.”