Sara Sharif: Keir Starmer demands answers after series of failures saw girl, 10, tortured to death by family

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spoken out after Sara Sharif, 10, was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Sharif was awarded custody, despite accusations of abuse against him,

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said questions need to be answered over the case of 10-year-old Sara Sharif who was murdered by her father and stepmother, describing the details as shocking.

On Wednesday, Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, were found guilty of her murder. Her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, who lived with them, was convicted of causing or allowing her death.

Sara, 10, was beaten to death four years after taxi driver Sharif was awarded custody, despite accusations of abuse against him, jurors heard.

Speaking to broadcasters, the Prime Minister said: “My first response is a human response. This is just awful case. It’s very hard to see, to read about, for many people who will be viewing, it’s just shocking.

“So that’s where I start on this. Obviously, there’s going to be questions that need to be answered in relation to this case.”

Asked whether the Government would ban smacking children in its Children’s Wellbeing Bill, he said: “I don’t think that we should allow ourselves to think that whatever the rules on smacking are that’s got anything to do with this case.

“This is about violence. It’s about abuse. It’s about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled. So that’s where I think the questions are.

“But my response, first and foremost, is just the most awful case that many people, many viewers will find very, very, very hard to hear.”

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said Sharif created a “culture of violent discipline”, where assaults on Sara had “become completely routine, completely normalised”.

In January 2023, Sara had begun wearing a hijab to cover up the bruises at school.

Teachers noticed marks on her face and referred her to social services in March of that year, but the case was dropped within days.

The following month, Sara was taken out of school and the violence against her intensified in the weeks before her death.