Warnings about Arthur Labinjo-Hughes ignored, says grandfather

Warnings about Arthur Labinjo-Hughes were ignored, his grandfather has said.

Arthur’s stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of the six-year-old’s murder.

His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter.

Peter Halcrow, Arthur’s maternal grandfather, said warnings were issued by the little boy’s other grandparents.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They’re decent people and they were very concerned. And they issued warnings that were ignored, shall we say.”

As for the couple responsible for his death, Mr Halcrow said they had committed a “heinous crime” by killing a “defenceless, innocent boy”.

Mr Halcrow told the broadcaster: “I wouldn’t give them the time of day and I wouldn’t want them to see the light of day ever again.”

Arthur was left with an unsurvivable brain injury while in the sole care of “evil” Tustin.

She was convicted of murder by assaulting defenceless Arthur in the hallway of her Cranmore Road home in Solihull, on June 16 2020.

Arthur, whose body was covered in 130 bruises, died in hospital the next day.