“The term ‘non-accidental injury’ may be a term of art used by clinicians as a short-hand and I make no criticism of its use but it is a ‘catch-all’ for everything that is not an accident. It is also a tautology: the true distinction is between an accident which is unexpected and unintentional and an injury which involves an element of wrong. That element of wrong may involve a lack of care or intent of a greater or lesser degree that may amount to negligence, recklessness or deliberate infliction. Whilst an analysis of this kind may be helpful to distinguish deliberate infliction from, say, negligence, it is unnecessary in any consideration of whether the threshold criteria are satisfied because what the statute requires is something different, namely findings of fact that at least satisfy the significant harm, attributability and the objective standard of care elements inSection 31(2) of the Children Act 1989 .”
“There is no pseudo-burden on a parent to come up with an alternative explanation.”
“I explained to him how the baby’s brain is very delicate and lifting the baby up and down in the arms could cause harm to the brain.”
“Yes, from the evidence I have heard I can say there may be long-term effects, but I pray to God it does not happen like that. As suggested, this thing can happen at a later stage but she is such a lovely child. It is suggested she might have learning difficulties but you tell her one thing and her performance is excellent.”
“Areas of physical brain injury are present on the imaging and these may well have a significant impact on later development and wellbeing.”
“I can’t see the fall causing significant brain injury.” 117. Dr Williams says: “It is unlikely to cause significant injury and we don’t have the features of impact trauma on the imaging.”
“I do not think that fall would have anything to do with her condition as we discussed previously. Never say 100 per cent but I would be amazed if she hurt herself doing that.”
“It is not common. It means a faint which then reduces blood to the brain and makes you lose consciousness. What we need to distinguish is an anoxic event, suddenly stopped breathing, usually caused by shock or something like that. I mean, she could have momentarily. It tends to be something which only lasts a short period of time, a matter of seconds. You get it with children who appear to be breath-holding. It is really unlikely it would have caused the situation the father came back to see.”
“I cannot opine categorically that this was of sufficient force to cause G’s ophthalmic injuries, but it is possible that it was.”
“It depends on [as the baby was being rushed downstairs] whether in fact during that rush, the father holding the baby and the head being unsupported, whether that constituted further shaking. That is all I can say. It depends on how the court is able to interpret that particular action or episode.”
“If I saw that mechanism used on a child in front of me, there is no way I’d ever let it continue, which means to me it is abnormal and to me it looks abnormal. I feel less able to say than Dr Williams that this is not the sort of energy that can cause these injuries. I would not let somebody do that to a child, so it makes it abnormal.”
“A high level of parents, I think over 30 per cent, find their child unconscious and will try to shake them a little bit to wake them up or get them to breathe, but those kinds of level of shakes would not normally cause the injuries we see in G, which is why I think probably the shaking was more severe than we have been led to believe.”
“A shake is a shake is a shake. It is a physical movement leading to a medical condition. I have no ability to tell you the intention of why that shake was purported.”
“[The father] told us that G was awake and lying in the middle of the bed upstairs, which is a double bed close to the window. [The father], whilst appearing scared and out of breath, told us he had left G alone on the bed for up to two minutes and he was using the toilet, and when he returned into the bedroom G was no longer on the bed. [The father] said he searched the bedroom and found G on the floor on the far side of the bed, and when he found her she was unconscious and non-responsive to him calling her name and being picked up.”
“I saw my younger brother holding G, who is my niece, in his arms. I could see G was unconscious. She was not breathing. Her eyes were closed. My brother told me G fell down from the bed. He was in the washroom and when he came back he saw G on the floor.”
“At no stage was it mentioned by any family member that they had performed compressions of the baby or had shaken the baby.”
“I may have been asked one or two questions, but my mental state was not such that looking at G and her condition I was not able to answer anything. I do not remember what they asked and what they did not ask.”
“The bed was not high, maybe 50 centimetres. Mum was in the kitchen, Dad was with the child and left for only two minutes to go to the bathroom. When he returned she was on the carpeted floor on his side, unresponsive. Previously, was completely well. I asked persistently if there were any other injury in the days prior but they denied it.”
“Mum was down in the kitchen. Dad was playing with her on the bed. Dad went to the bathroom, left G in the middle of the bed. When he came back she was on the floor next to the bed, floppy and unresponsive. Floor is carpeted. There is a railing on one side of the bed. G was on the floor on the side with no railing. No stiff, no jerking, no eye deviation. Dad did not hear a cry whilst in the bathroom.”
“I was so unwell. I cannot explain it. I was in shock. I was not able to understand the question I was being asked.”
“On the morning of 5 October at 8 o’clock the mother was in the kitchen. G was with her father. The father went to the toilet and came back to find her not on the bed. He found she is on the floor and not responding. She is listless, floppy and unresponsive to stimulation. She did not cry after the fall. She was noted to have laboured breathing and moaning sounds in between. She was not stiff, had no jerky movements, no eye deviation.”
“In a short time so many things happened. I did not have the cognition about anything that was happening. At the time the only thing in my mind is she had a fall. The only thing in my mind was it all happened because of a fall.”
“My wife went downstairs to prepare breakfast. While she was playing with me, as she was playing, I let her lie in the middle of the bed and I went to the bathroom. While I went to the bathroom I heard her cry. I felt this was the way she normally cries. She is just crying, just like that. After washing my face I returned to the room. After the bathroom I saw G was not there. When I saw her, she was lying on one side with her head [and he tilts his head to his left shoulder] like that. Her head was near the bedside. It was very difficult for her to breathe. [The police note that he is distressed and takes tissues and wipes his eyes.] At that point I picked her up and I ran downstairs.”
“You left her with me. She was playing with me. I had to go to the bathroom. I put her on that side of the bed which was near the rail. When I came back to get my shirt, to wear my shirt, when I saw G wasn’t there, she was lying on the other side.”
“My husband told me she was in the middle of the bed, but I felt like it was towards the rail.”
“At the time of the incident I was not present in the room and I maintain this incident was a result of an accident.”
“I asked him if he can explain the medical report of shaking her. He said, no, he did not do it and no one did.” 154. The father was asked about this in the witness box and said: “I had a conversation with the social worker but not on this topic.”
“I was not in a position at that time to explain what happened or did not happen.”
“Regarding my daughter everything that was going on and they were doing and they were taking her away from me. They were doing all that for no reason on my part.”
“I was unable to absorb what someone was saying and to understand it.”
“[The father] keeps saying: ‘Why would I hurt my baby? No one is left with her except us.’ [The father] stated his daughter is his only child. Why would he harm her?”
“This is my first child. Which would I do anything like that? I have told them everything about it. How could someone do this to their child? We’ve prayed a lot to God to have the child.”
“I asked him that because of his actions she got injured, and he said yes.”
“I was holding her by my arms with my hands were holding her out. I had gently, in a back-and-forth motion, rocked her to get a response, but got nothing. Out of panic, I took the child downstairs.”
“When I gave my first statement I did not have any concept of this, that shaking or anything else. The only thing in my mind was that she had a fall and it was because of that.” 166. He was asked again why the word “gentle” was used later in his evidence. “Because I shook her the word ‘rock’ was used. ‘Gently’ is used because I was not in anger.”
“He shook G gently in various positions, once, if not twice, to rouse her.”
“[The father] said he wanted to tell me exactly what happened on the original day of the accident with G, as he feels his solicitor is not listening to him and nobody else is listening to him.”
“I phoned her myself and arranged it myself. When she came to the house to see us it was clear at that time, more clear at that time what had happened, and I showed her. I had a teddy bear. I showed her exactly what I did. I picked up the baby and I demonstrated how I called her name first and she did not respond. I shook her.”
“Both parents have not fully read or understood the medical reports and have faith that things will be fine and G will be returned to her care.” 175. She writes: “[The father] reports he did shake G after the fall. He was trying to wake her up. He denies shaking her before the floor.”
“He heard G cry when he was in the washroom. He thought she was crying as he had left her alone. After two minutes she stopped crying. After about five minutes he went back. It was around 7.55 AM. She was not crying when he went back into the room. She was on the floor as she had fainted. He picked her up and started shaking her and calling her name. He thinks the injury that happened was due to his shaking. First, he held G from the arm and shook her, so her head was moving, which may have caused the injuries. But he spoke to his doctor in Dubai who told them that if he placed his hand under G’s head that may not have happened. He has not told this to the police. During the visit he called a solicitor who was supporting him with a police case. His solicitor advised him not to share such information with the social workers as he can get seven years in prison. This scared the father but he was adamant he would tell the truth that he shook G after finding her fainted on the floor to wake her up.”
“During this assessment the father thinks he is accountable for causing the injuries to G by shaking her after finding her unconscious on the floor.”
“[the father] left G unattended on the bed despite knowing she can roll. It is concerning that rather than seeking medical attention he started shaking her with movements of her head when he lifted her unresponsive from the floor. He had no knowledge how this may have caused harm to G.”
“I understood that because I shook her and it happened because of that and gradually I came back to my senses realising what had happened and I started to explain everything clearly to everyone. That was not clear to me before and I could not even think that this could happen. There was no concept in my mind about this.”
“If I saw that mechanism used on the child in front of me, there is no way I’d let it continue. It is abnormal, and it looks to me abnormal.”
“I placed G in the middle of the bed and left the room for approximately five to seven minutes. On my return I find G on the floor. She was lying on the back. Her face was tilted to her right side. I was immediately panic-stricken. I picked her up. She was breathing but completely unresponsive. Her eyes were closed. I shook her two or three times. I recall grabbing her around the stomach and shaking her but she did not respond. I was shocked and crying at the time and calling out her name. In utter distress I ran down the stairs, carrying her. There are 14 or 15 steps and I ran down very quickly. In my panic I was not supporting her head properly as I ran downstairs and her head would have been moving or shaking as I ran. I accept in my absolute panic and terror on finding her unresponsive I shook her two or three times in a desperate and misguided attempt to elicit response. My intention was never to harm her. It was born of sheer panic and the complete lack of knowledge as to how to handle such a medical emergency. I did not know what else to do. Now I understand the act of running downstairs without properly supporting her head could have caused significant movement. I believe that this, combined with the shaking of G, the fall from the bed, and running downstairs without supporting her head, caused her injuries. I did not deliberately hurt G.”
“I have, right from the outset of these proceedings, readily admitted that I frantically shook my child and this was never done in an intentionally harmful manner or with malice.”
“I would say I was absent for a period of no more than five to seven minutes.”
“I walked back into the room. I immediately saw G was not on the bed. I hurried to my side of the bed and I saw my daughter who had fallen on the floor on the gap between the bed and the wall. G’s back was on the floor and her head was tilted to the right facing the bed. Her legs were also slightly tilted towards the right facing the bed. The rattle I’d left with her was on the floor. I picked her up using both hands, placing them just under her arms in her chest area. Her eyes were closed. She was not making any noise. At that moment I started to cry and panicked. I shook her two or three times to get a response from her but no response was coming. I noticed she was still breathing. My mobile phone was on the bedside cabinet. So while I still had G on my left arm I rang my brother. As the call was just ringing out, I only called him once. I dropped the phone on the bed, ran out her bedroom, down the stairs, which was to the left of my bedroom door. I cannot be precise but I cannot have been in the room for longer than it took to do this before I ran downstairs holding her. I knew I had to get the aid of my brother as he would know what to do and my wife would be hysterical and emotional.”
“Whatever happened, I have explained that.”
“When I looked at her I felt that was just the end of me. That was the end of me. My life had come to an end. I was crying. I ran downstairs.”
“When I saw her lying there on the ground, I felt my life was over.” 200. Later, he says: “I am going to be honest with you. I was not really in my senses”
“I felt that was the end of me, the end of my life. I started to call out: ‘….. My brother. See my daughter. My life is gone.’” 201. He then becomes very distressed. He goes on to say: “When I saw half of her eyes were closed I felt like my life had left my body. That was the end of me.”
“When I saw her, because she is my only daughter, I felt I could not see anything. I lost my senses. I just felt there was darkness in front of my eyes. I was crying and calling her name and she did not respond. When she was not responding I felt a lot of pain that she was not responding. I felt that because she is my life. Why is she not responding?”
“Do you think your emotions overwhelmed you?” he said: “I always make sure and decide I am not going to show my emotions, but when something is said about my daughter or my wife, I get really hurt and I cannot control myself.”
“You were not in control of your emotions in the morning of 5 October?” 207. He answered: “I felt like I was unaware of what was happening to me. I was blinded. I was not within myself. I was unaware of myself and I felt like crying and I was crying. My daughter was not responding to me. It was all dark.”
“Do you agree that you being overwhelmed is why G suffered really serious injuries?”
“I was not in my senses. I was not able to understand what was happening.”
“How did you feel?” “My own condition was such”, he said, “it was hard for me to control myself. I was not able to see her in that condition. I could not bear to see her in that condition.”
“ When I gave my first statement, I did not have any concept of this, the shaking or anything else, but that thing in my mind was she had a fall and it’s because of that.”
“My thinking was, we are not the sort of parents who would do this thing to their daughter, so why are they so fussy? Why are they asking all of this? He goes on later in his oral evidence: “When I was told that they were investigating, I thought, ‘We are not that sort of parents. Why are they investigating us?’”
“I always thought that they were suggesting that I did that deliberately and knowing that I wanted to harm her. That became very upsetting for me, that she was my daughter and I would never be thinking, it is beyond my thinking that how can I do that to her? Then I realised gradually and I understood that because I shook her and it happened because of that. I gradually came back to my sense, realising what happened, and started to explain everything clearly to everyone, but before that it was not clear to me and I could not even think that could happen. There was no concept in my mind about this.”
“She is perfectly OK. We should not worry about it There is no need to operate on her and she is fine. You pray and she will be fine.”
“How much do you talk about how G came to be injured?” 222. She said: “We do not talk much on the topic. Whenever such a conversation happens between us we both get very sad.”
“I felt really upset, but when I saw her on the floor I was in a really bad condition.”
“If I see this thing now I will consider it wrong because now I have learned about it.”
“I am not able to forgive myself. Because of me, my daughter suffered.”
“I do think that the forceps delivery made her fragile to other injuries and I do think that the injuries she was found with on 5 October could have been caused by either hitting her head on the dressing table leg, falling off the bed and my husband trying to rouse her.”
“Any human being will get upset at that time. This is the reason my daughter had to go through agony.”
“I do not accept my husband shook G violently. I accept what my husband said about when he picked G off the floor. He shook her to rouse her but not to the extent alleged by the Local Authority.”
“I feel sick at the thought of people thinking we did this on purpose to her.”
“He shook her harshly, but not ...” and here she used the English word, having started the sentence in his primary language: “... not intentionally.”
“Were you trying to protect the father?” “Never, [she replied]. “Had I known he had done this thing deliberately I would have told the police straight away, even if I felt he was telling me a lie.” 240. Later still in her evidence, Ms Croft said: “I am going to say to the judge that the video is shocking, and I am trying to give you the chance to say if you agree or disagree.”
“I am not protecting my husband. Had he done that deliberately I would have told.”