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Northamptonshire child murders: Council leader 'should resign'

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Dylan Tiffin-Brown was deemed by carers as "unlikely to suffer harm" before he was killed

An MP has called for a council leader to resign over failings that led to the murders of two young children.

Reviews found Northamptonshire County Council missed chances to protect the two-year-old boy and one-year-old girl.

Speaking in parliament, Kettering MP Philip Hollobone said "the buck must stop" with Matt Golby, who had been in charge of children's services.

Mr Golby said he still had "so much to give" as leader and was determined to "put right" mistakes made in the cases.

Dylan Tiffin-Brown, two, and one-year-old Evelyn-Rose Muggleton were victims of separate murders.

Raphael Kennedy, Dylan's father, and Ryan Coleman, the partner of Evelyn-Rose's mother, were both jailed for life.

Serious case reviews found that Dylan was deemed by carers as "unlikely to suffer harm", while concerns about the welfare of Evelyn-Rose were also dismissed.

Matt Golby, council leader
Leader Matt Golby used to be in charge of children's social services at Northamptonshire

Conservative MP Mr Hollobone said the Tory-run authority had been "dysfunctional for many years, but particularly in children's services".

He said: "The public want to know who is going to take responsibility and I'm afraid the answer must lie with the local councillor in charge of children's services at the time.

"He is a good man and he is working very hard to transform the council into the two unitaries, but I believe that the buck most stop with the person at the top."

Sally Keeble, former Labour MP for Northampton North, and Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour's Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, had already called on Mr Golby to resign.

The pair have also called for the public release of a confidential report into a case in which a boy was "locked in room not fit for a human".

The Northamptonshire Safeguarding Board said it "was not in the best interests of the children" to release the report.

UK Parliament Philip Hollobone MPUK Parliament
Philip Hollobone said responsibility for failings rested with Matt Golby

Mr Golby has led the council since May last year, and a motion of no confidence in him is to be debated at the full council meeting on 20 June.

In a statement he said: "I believe I still have so much to give as leader of the council, not least in my determination to put right the mistakes which were made in these awful cases.

"During my two years as cabinet lead for children's services I tried to undertake my role as diligently as possible.

"The improvement plan we are now implementing and overseen by the Children's Commissioner provides a clear focus to develop conditions for good practice to thrive."