‘He must have had this sense of impending doom’: Arthur Labingo Hughes’ grandmother says

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Knowing that he was in danger, Arthur felt “a sense of impending doom” as his grandmother put it, Chloe Kiddy reported.

Arthur Labingo-Hughes’ grandmother shared how the six-year-old “must have this sense of impending doom that something is going to happen to him,” saying he knew he was in danger.

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Madeleine Halcroo said her grandson was an “intuitive child” who knew his father was putting him in danger.

Speaking poignantly of young Arthur, Halcrow said, “For a child to say to his father ‘I am in danger with your father … you are going to kill me.’ Something is wrong.”

“Arthur is very intuitive. He must have had this sense of impending doom that something was going to happen to him.”

Six-year-old Arthur Labingo Hughes passed away in June 2020. Credit: PA

Six-year-old Arthur, from Solihull, sustained an unsurpassable brain injury while in the care of his stepmother Emma Tastin. Arthur, whose body was covered with 130 bruises, died in the hospital the next day.

Tustin was jailed for life on Friday after being convicted of murder and will serve at least 29 years.

Arthur’s father, Thomas Hughes, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for manslaughter.

Ms Halcrow said the couple showed neither remorse nor sympathy, describing them as “corrupt, sadistic, torturous, evil and judgmental”.

She said the sentences for Arthur’s stepmother and stepfather were not long enough – with the attorney general appointed to review the terms.

It should mean ‘life’ for Hughes and Tustin

“Life should mean life,” she said. “They took Arthur’s life, he won’t get his life back, he won’t have children.”

On Monday, Arthur’s maternal grandfather, Peter Halcrow, said that Tustin and Hughes “should never see the light of day again.”

Ms. Halcrow told hosts Susanna Reed and Martin Lewis (both of whom the interview was clearly affected by) that she had met Arthur’s paternal grandparents who had noticed bruises on the child.

Social services and police were called, but Ms Halcrow said not enough action had been taken.

An independent review is underway into the actions of the social workers involved in Arthur’s particular case, while Ofsted begins work on their investigation of child protection services in Solihull in general.

Arthur’s grandmother photographed his father’s bruises in April 2020, two months before his death. credit: PA

“I saw new bruising on top of the old one which tells me this is still going on,” said Halcrow, who is a nurse.

“When I saw them for the first time, I imagined the pain Arthur would have been in receiving these bruises,” she said, overwhelmed with emotion.

“Something happened” with the system that should have ensured her grandson’s safety, said Mrs. Halcrow – who described her grandson as “the happiest child”.

“Something is broken in this system and something needs to be fixed.”

She said the police and social services should have done more to recognize and act on the risks Arthur faces, adding that she is angry with the authorities.

“I am angry with the internal agencies because communication was not passed somewhere along the line,” she said — citing another case of child abuse, including Baby P.

After the interview, Susanna Reid – who said the story “broke it” – asked Attorney General Dominic Raab about the prospects for extending Tuston and Hughes’ sentences.

Raab said he finds the situation “extremely heartbreaking” as a father himself, and added that he fully supported the attorney general’s decision to review the sentences.

“I want the utmost protection and the most severe sanctions to protect the most vulnerable,” he said.

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