Search for answers begins as two convicted for murder of toddler Liam Fee

During a seven-week trial at the High Court in Livingston, it emerged that serious concerns had been reported to Fife Council about the care of Liam and two other children being looked after by the women at a property in Glenrothes.

However, a senior social worker told the court that at one point the boy had slipped “off the radar” simply because his allocated worker was off sick.

After the jurors reached their verdict yesterday, an independent significant case review was announced by Fife Child Protection Committee to examine whether social workers and other agencies missed opportunities to prevent his killing in March 2014.

A row also erupted last night about whether or not Liam had had a “named person” in line with the controversial Scottish Government policy which comes into effect in August.

The No To Named Persons group said Liam lived in an area where the project is already operating, adding: "Clearly the scheme did nothing to help this poor child.”

The SNP reacted angrily to the comments. Rona Mackay MSP said: “It is deeply distasteful for any campaign group to politicise the tragic murder of a young child.

“The only people responsible for the death of Liam Fee are those convicted of his murder – attempting to use this death to score political points is insensitive and disrespectful.

“While opponents of the Named Person scheme are entitled to express their views, they also have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the sensitivities of the issues at hand. On this occasion they have failed to do so.”

A spokeswoman for Fife Council refused to say whether Liam had a named person, but added: “Every child in Fife has always had a point of contact for parents and professionals." We’ve been following the GIRFEC approach since 2009, but it’s not accurate to say that every child in Fife has had the equivalent of a Named Person since 2009 as this role has been introduced incrementally.”

Trelfa, 31, and her partner Fee, 29, denied killing Liam but the jury convicted the pair of a series of charges against them, including the murder.

They were also found guilty of a catalogue of abuse towards another two boys, including imprisoning one in a home-made cage and tying another naked to a chair in a dark room with snakes and rats.

To shift blame for Liam’s death, the women persuaded one of the older boys to admit his own guilt for killing the two-year-old, but this story fell apart in court. They were convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by trying to blame his death on one of the young boys.

The women showed little emotion as the verdicts were returned. Judge Lord Burns deferred sentence on the couple until July 6.

Dougie Dunlop, vice chairman of Fife Child Protection Committee said child protection expert Dr Jacqui Mok would lead the significant case review, adding: “Liam’s death was a tragedy that has left everyone deeply shocked and saddened.

“In the circumstances where a child has died it is right that we should reflect on what happened to see whether there is any scope for improvement. This independent review will be thorough and comprehensive.”

The investigation will look at the role played by all agencies, but social work organisations said the findings would be likely to feed into a Scottish Government child protection review.

Trisha Hall, spokeswoman for the Scottish Association of Social Workers, said: “This is every social worker’s horror. The case went off the radar, it is not good enough and I think everyone would agree that. People should have acted.”

Elaine Torrance, president of Social Work Scotland said: “Clearly Liam’s death was an absolute tragedy. What makes it worse is that the abuse was carried out by the people Liam was entrusted to. Thankfully cruelty and neglect on this level are exceptional.

“We are working with other organisations and the Scottish Government to look at wider issues about child neglect and how to identify children in need earlier.”

Although multi-agency meetings took place repeatedly about the family, it is not clear what action was taken after a series of alarms were raised.

During the trial, childminder Heather Farmer said she had called the Scottish Childminding Association and the Care Inspectorate because she thought someone was harming Liam. Staff at the nursery he enrolled at in March 2013 had reported injuries to social services by June. A member of the public also contacted social services in September 2013.

However Karen Pedder, a team manager in child protection at Fife Council, admitted in court that the toddler had dropped off the department’s radar completely in April 2013, until June the same year, when his assigned social worker was off sick.

Despite further concerns being raised by the nursery in June 2013, he remained in the care of his mother and her partner. After his death, pathologists recorded more than 30 injuries on his body including fractures to his upper arm and thigh – injuries for which he received no medical treatment.

The jury heard that these two injuries would have left Liam in agony, but rather than taking him to hospital, internet records show the Fees searching for information on “how long can you live with a broken bone?” and “can wives be in prison together?” After his death they delayed calling for help until they had dismantled a cage sed to imprison one of the boys, a choice described by the prosecution as showing “wicked indifference” to whether the “vulnerable and defenceless” Liam lived or died.

Liam’s father Joseph Johnson was in tears as he left the court. Advocate Depute Alex Prentice said: “It is impossible to express in words the sense of loss that he feels on the loss of Liam.”

The judge excused the jury members from being called again for jury duty for 10 years, due to the distressing nature of the evidence they had been exposed to.