Shropshire Star

Archie Spriggs' family: 'There will be another case' like his if further work not done

The family of murdered Shropshire schoolboy Archie Spriggs has said it is concerned 'there will be another case' like his if further work is not done.

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Archie Spriggs

Archie, aged seven, was murdered by Lesley Speed at their home in Wall under Heywood, near Rushbury, Church Stretton, on September 21, 2017, the day she had been due to attend a custody hearing.

Following the inquest into the young boy's death, members of Archie's family now say they believe 'key lessons have not been learned'.

A statement released by the family at the end of the inquest today said 'this inquest has identified serious system failures'.

"Everyone who encountered Archie over his life immediately recognised him for what he was - a lovely, bubbly young boy with a bright future ahead of him," said the family.

"The loss of him, as a son, as a nephew, and as a grandson, is unbearable.

"Only one person bears ultimate responsibility for Archie's death - Lesley Speed.

"The family's concerns throughout this difficult inquest have always been focused on one question: how can we stop this from happening again?

Police at the murder scene

"While the coroner has concluded that Archie's death could not have been prevented, this inquest has identified serious system failures.

"Concerns about Archie were not recorded properly, those concerns which were recorded were not handled properly, and opportunities were missed for Archie to be properly protected.

"Having heard all the evidence, the family is very concerned that those key lessons have not been learned from Archie's death.

The family's statement was read outside the inquest:

"Without further reflection and work being done, they are concerned that there will be another case like Archie's.

"While we understand the considerable interest in this case, we would ask for privacy at this very difficult time."

Concluding the hearing today, senior coroner John Ellery said he did not believe the system failings 'caused or contributed to Archie's death'.

"Having considered all the evidence and recognising the admitted system failings, I don’t believe on the balance of probabilities that they caused or contributed to Archie’s death or that it could have been prevented," he said.

"The harsh truth is that Archie’s death was due to the actions of Lesley Speed and no state agency could have reasonably foreseen or predicted the outcome."

Police were called to three incidents involving Lesley Speed and her seven-year-old son Archie in the months before she murdered him at their Shropshire home, the inquest heard.

Statements were read at the hearing from officers who visited Speed, Archie and his father Matthew Spriggs in the June and July of 2017.

Lesley Speed

But each time they were satisfied Archie was not at risk and no further action was taken.

The inquest also heard from Philip Shakesheff of West Mercia Police, who chairs the Harm Assessment Unit which holds daily multi-agency meetings to discuss all domestic incidents.

He said Archie had been discussed at a meeting in June, after Speed reported to police that Mr Spriggs had not returned Archie at the end of the half term break. Officers visited Mr Spriggs, found Archie safe and well, and left him where he was.

What was not known or discussed at the meeting was that Speed had said to two call handlers that she wanted to 'strangle' and 'stab' Mr Spriggs.

But Mr Shakesheff said this information would not have changed the outcome, which was that the incident was categorised as 'low risk'.

Archie's GP told the inquest of the moment Speed told him Archie wanted to die – two days before she killed him.

Dr Aidan Savage from Church Stretton Medical Practice said he had never been given cause for concern over Archie’s welfare.

He said he first saw Archie in 2014 when he was four years old. Not long after, Archie’s father Matthew Spriggs called the practice to report allegations of physical and sexual abuse Archie had disclosed to him.

Coverage of the inquest:

Dr Savage contacted Shropshire social services, and was told there was 'no evidence of abuse'.

No safeguarding concerns were ever raised by members of staff over Archie in his three years at Rushbury Church of England Primary School.

In her evidence at the inquest, Sue Manley, who taught Archie from September 2016 to July 2017, said she had a meeting with Speed on September 14, 2017, in which the mother told her Archie had not seen his father since the beginning of June.

The two parents were involved in a custody battle at the time, after Speed stopped Archie seeing his father.

Speed told Ms Manley the only thing that would solve the situation was 'a shotgun and a shovel'.

Archie Spriggs

Ms Manley said she was shocked by this comment and suggested to Speed she seek some help from social services. This was accepted and Ms Manley made the call to social services later that day.

A week later, Speed smothered Archie to death in his bed at their home.

The inquest also heard Archie's father Matthew Spriggs had asked social workers if it would take his son being killed before they would act.

In a statement read at the hearing by Mr Spriggs’ representative Stephen Clark, he listed the repeated concerns he raised with Shropshire Council’s social services team from 2013 up until a few months before Archie’s murder at the hands of his mother Lesley Speed.

Mr Spriggs reported concerns about physical abuse perpetrated by Speed that Archie had disclosed to him, and said his son, aged four at the time, had reported being sexually abused by another man.

But Mr Spriggs, who was involved in a long-running dispute with Speed over access to Archie, said his concerns were not acted on. In the summer of 2017, he again contacted social services to report abuse Archie had disclosed. Mr Spriggs said he was told there were 'no grounds to investigate', as the previous investigation in 2014 had not concluded Archie was in danger.

He said he was given the 'unbelievable' answer that the previous investigation had consisted of a single phone call to Rushbury Church of England Primary School, where Archie was a pupil.

In the months before Archie's death, Mr Spriggs said he contacted other agencies including Rushbury School, police, the NSPCC and others, 'in desperation for the protection of my son'.

Lesley Speed

But, he said: “My concerns were repeatedly dismissed."

Social workers gave evidence at the inquest and said there was no record of Mr Spriggs asking 'what is it going to take?'.

Colleen Male, former head of safeguarding at Shropshire children’s services, was on the panel which undertook a serious case review following Archie’s death.

Ms Male said the concerns over sexual abuse in 2014 should have triggered a multi-agency meeting between social services, police, the school and others and that this would probably have been taken further with a visit to Archie.

She said that in August 2017 the family courts requested social services produce a report on Archie’s circumstances after Mr Spriggs applied for custody.

This should have triggered a home visit to see Archie within seven days, but due to a safeguarding letter not being received from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), a member of staff being off sick and an Ofsted inspection at the same time, the visit was not carried out.

Senior coroner John Ellery said: “So Archie should have been seen two years before he died, and just before he died.”

Following the inquest, Karen Bradshaw, director of children’s services with Shropshire Council, said: "This has been a difficult and distressing time for everyone who knew Archie and our thoughts remain with him, his family and his friends.

“We acknowledge and welcome the coroner's findings that Archie’s death could not have been predicted or prevented by the council, the school, or any of the agencies involved in Archie’s care, but stress that service improvements have been made.”

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