London - Social workers cowed by assertive middle class parents failed to intervene before the mother killed their three disabled children, an official report found on Monday.
Banker’s wife Tania Clarence suffocated Olivia, four, and three-year-old twins Ben and Max after becoming “overwhelmed” by the challenge of caring for them.
Social workers could have stepped in a year before she smothered them in their beds at the £1.4 million home in New Malden, South West London, the serious case review found.
But they held back from providing appropriate care partly because of the South African couple’s “affluent, middle class status” and assertive attitude, it said.
This was significant because Mrs Clarence and her husband Gary’s class and self-assurance “posed challenge to professionals, some of whom would not be used to this level of questioning”.
“This was particularly the case in dealings with the father who, as a company director, was experienced and powerful,” it said.
“There has been consideration whether the family’s social status led to a different safeguarding response. There is no evidence this occurred, but it may have contributed to the cautious approach in moving into the child protection processes.”
Mr Clarence has blamed NHS staff and social workers for “unbearable pressure” that helped tip his depressed 44-year-old wife over the edge.
He said the couple had wished that the three children’s quality of life should be a priority and had been unwilling to agree to operations for the youngsters, who all had type 2 spinal muscular atrophy and were not expected to survive beyond early adulthood.
The degenerative muscle-wasting condition, sometimes referred to as “floppy baby” syndrome, left them unable to stand or walk unaided.
The report said the couple’s South African background, which meant they were used to selecting services rather than being advised what they should do, also had a significant impact on how doctors and social services handled the “extremely unusual and challenging” case.
“The reason for this was the lack of parental co-operation, and in particular the difficulties in developing a good working relationship with the mother. Her distress and perceived resentment towards some professional advice provided an obstacle which practitioners struggled to break through sufficiently.”
Despite making 14 recommendations, the review by Kingston council concluded that the children’s killings in April 2014 could not have been predicted or prevented.
The report acknowledged the “enormous” level of professional involvement with the family, totalling 60 people.
This meant it was not always clear who was leading the case.
Professionals reported concerns that Mrs Clarence did not always follow their advice and discussed whether the child protection threshold had been reached.
An apparent breakthrough was made shortly before the children’s deaths, when Mr Clarence agreed to allow Olivia to have a stomach operation.
Last November, Mrs Clarence admitted manslaughter through diminished responsibility and was detained in hospital.
She is allowed visits home on day release. Last night Mr Clarence said his wife “dedicated her life to loving and caring for” their children.
“The overwhelming responsibilities of this care took its toll on Tania. Tania’s depression was certainly not helped by the constant pressure placed on the family by some aspects of the medical profession and social services who could not agree with our stance of prioritising quality of life for our children over medical operations and interventions that we felt were not always appropriate.
“Today’s independent report highlights only some of the conflicts and complexities my wife and I have faced over the last three years,” he said.
Daily Mail
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