Tears for tragic Elsie

RESPONSIBILITY for the death of Elsie Scully-Hicks, murdered by her adoptive father, must also rest with those who approved the adoption. If deemed negligent, they should face court proceedings.

For far too long after such tragedies we’ve been served up that old cliche, ‘lessons will be learned’.

Should an employer be complicit in the death of an employee due to poor or reckless safety issues, they can face prosecution and prison.

Why should other agencies be exempt? What about magistrates who bail dangerous thugs who commit further crimes?

What about the doctors, psychiatrists and parole boards who let dangerous and mentally disturbed patients back into society, who then maim or kill?

PETER WARRILOW, Lincoln. I WEPT when I read about baby Elsie. Our daughter was a similar age when she was placed with us for adoption after a much more stringent process than seems to occur nowadays.

We were assigned a social worker who visited us weekly for a year, a report was submitted and six months after that we were approved. It was a full year until we were lucky enough to have our daughter.

In Elsie’s case, I have to ask why so many visits by social workers were made after the adoption: were they just routine follow-up visits or were there warning signs?

Name and address supplied. ANOTHER beautiful child beaten to death. Every time this happens, the authorities say, ‘this must never happen again’, but it does, time and time again.

It’s the same old story, with social workers, doctors and A&E all seeming to miss the obvious. If it were someone’s pet poodle, there would be a public uproar.

JAMES LEE, London WC2. POLITICAL correctness, incompetent social workers and negligent medics appear to have contributed to the appalling death of little Elsie.

None of these will suffer a punishment that reflects the agony, loneliness, despair and fear that little girl had to endure in her tragic life. CHRISTOPHER ELLIS,

Colkirk, Norfolk.