Boris Johnson backs ‘Arthur’s law’ which would see child killers die in prison

The Prime Minister promised to leave 'no stone unturned' in the national review following Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' death

Following the abuse and killing of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly backed newly proposed legislation dubbed 'Arthur's law' which will see child killers slapped with life sentences and subsequently die in prison. The PM told The Sun: "Anyone who plans then carries out the murder of a child should never be released from prison, so we’re toughening the law to make whole-life orders the starting point for such abhorrent crimes." Arthur's step mum Emma Tustin (32) was given a minimum of 29 years in prison while dad Thomas Hughes (29) was hit with a 21-year sentence for manslaughter. This proposed legislation is part of a national review that was launched following the six-year-old's murder, who was seen to be under 'no safeguarding concern' just two months prior to his death on June 16th 2020. Robert Halfon - chairman of the Commons education committee told MPs: "There are 100,000 what I call 'ghost children', who are lost in the system and who haven't returned to school for the most time, who are subject to potential safeguarding hazards, county lines gangs, online harm and, of course, awful domestic abuse." The aim is not only to have these children returned to education but to ensure that they are properly monitored while outside of school, with questions raised as to the quality of the UK's safeguarding standards.

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