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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Hannah Summers and Louise Tickle

Inexperienced social worker did not identify Sara Sharif’s father as posing any risk

Sara Sharif, aged one
Sara Sharif, aged one. Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of the 10-year-old's murder. Photograph: Surrey Police/PA

An inexperienced social worker tasked by a local authority with assessing Sara Sharif’s parents did not identify her father as posing any risk despite noting safeguarding concerns.

The social worker’s report, described as “very thorough”, was submitted as evidence ahead of a final hearing in 2019 at which a senior judge made the ultimate decision that Sara should live with her father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, who were last week found guilty of murdering the 10-year-old schoolgirl.

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