GMB: Kate and Richard discuss child abuse cases
During Thursday's episode of Good Morning Britain, Kate Garraway admitted she was left feeling sick by the tragic tale of Sara Sharif. The 10 year old died on August 8 last year and was tragically discovered in her home days later.
ITV audiences learned that her father and stepmother were found guilty of her murder this month. Discussing the horrifying similarities between Sara's fate and those of other child victims, Richard Madeley remarked: "We're covering the same story, only the names are changing. Let's go through some of those names, a failing system repeating itself with devastating consequences."
The programme then recalled young lives lost to family violence, referencing the somber stories of Peter Connelly, Star Hobson, and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
Addressing the repetitious pattern of these tragedies, Richard intoned: "Obviously, these are only some of the child victims who have lost their lives at the hands of those who were meant to protect them and nourish them and yet they suffered unimaginable cruelty."
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Echoing the gravity of the situation, Kate said: "It makes you feel sick, doesn't it?" before they turned the conversation to former MPs Jonathan Ashworth and Kwasi Kwarteng regarding the harrowing incident.
Richard showed the audience footage of Sara playing the guitar and singing, recorded merely two days before her death, reports the Mirror.
He posed the hard-hitting question: "It is the most heartbreaking story and yet, as we just said, we keep returning to it. What are we doing wrong?"
Jonathan expressed his outrage, stating: "It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. As you run through the stories of so many beautiful children whose lives have so cruelly, so evilly been taken away from them, it makes me absolutely incandescent with rage as well."
The case of Sara Sharif, a 10 year old girl who was brutally murdered, has sparked widespread horror. When her body was discovered, she had suffered dozens of injuries, and it was revealed that she had endured a campaign of abuse in the weeks leading up to her death, including being beaten, burnt, and bitten.
Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, had fled to Pakistan with his family and called the authorities to confess to the crime, stating: "I've killed my daughter. I legally punished her, and she died."
A handwritten note was found under Sara's pillow, written by her father, which read: "Love you Sara. Whoever see this note it's me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared but I promise that I will hand over myself and take punishment."
This week, Urfan Sharif and Sara's stepmother, Beinash Batool, were found guilty of her murder, while her uncle, Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.
Discussing the case on Good Morning Britain, Kwasi noted: "The main thing, which I think is really concerning, was the red flags, especially in this case. There were opportunities to intervene and save her life. I'm afraid those opportunities weren't taken."
Good Morning Britian continues weekdays on ITV from 6am.