The murder of toddler Lola James in Pembrokeshire has prompted calls for a Wales-wide review of children’s services.
The Welsh Conservatives – the largest opposition party in the Senedd – said “more must be done to prevent the deaths and abuse of children”.
It comes after a leading charity called for the Child Practice Review into Lola’s death to be “robust”.
Lola was two years old when she was killed by her mother’s partner, Kyle Bevan, 31, after sustaining 101 separate injuries to her body and a “catastrophic” brain injury.
The attack happened on 17 July 2020 with Lola dying of her injuries four days later.
Bevan – who had tried to blame those injuries on the family dog – was sentenced to life in prison at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday, with a minimum term of 28 years.
Lola’s mother Sinead James, 30, was jailed for six years for causing or allowing her death. She will serve half of that prison term before she is eligible for release.
Commenting, the Welsh Conservatives’ shadow minister for social services, Gareth Davies MS, said Lola’s murder was “another tragic and preventable case” and his thoughts “go out to those affected” by her death.
“This cannot be allowed to happen again, more must be done to prevent the deaths and abuse of children,” he said.
“In addition to this, it’s clear more than ever that we need a Wales-wide review of children’s services.”
He added: “Wales is the only UK nation not undertaking one, whilst having the UK’s highest rate of looked-after children.”
Sky News has asked the Welsh government for a response.
NSPCC Cymru has said the child practice review being carried out “must be robust in finding whether more could have been done to protect this little girl”.
Assistant director Tracey Holdsworth said she also hoped the review would establish “how agencies working together can better prevent future tragedies”.
She said child protection must be made a “national priority” and called for “systemic change”.
“The Welsh Government has rightly committed to transforming children’s social care and it is crucial this leads to systemic changes that ensure children like Lola are better protected,” she added.
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‘You killed my Lola’
Before sentencing on Tuesday, Lola’s grandmother, Nicola James, appealed directly to Bevan, saying: “Look at me Kyle.”
He barely reacted and showed no sign of remorse, while James was in floods of tears.
“There isn’t a single moment of any day that I don’t think of Lola,” said Ms James.
“Lola was nearly three when she was killed, she had her whole life ahead of her. She’ll never grow up, never get old.”
The court heard Lola was a “charming, smiley, bubbly, mischievous little girl”.
Ms James ended her statement by again speaking directly to Bevan in the dock.
“Kyle. You took the young innocent life of my granddaughter,” she said. “You killed my Lola and you have broken her family.”
Daniel Thomas, Lola’s father, said his daughter was “as bright as the golden sun” in a statement read on his behalf.
“Lola won’t have another birthday or ride a bike or listen to her favourite story,” he said.
“I will never get to meet my daughter as a teenager or a woman.”
He said he missed his daughter “every single day”.
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Killer ‘tried to cover his tracks’
Judge Mr Justice Griffiths said he was sure Bevan “was responsible for multiple assaults on the children before he murdered Lola”.
“He [Bevan] didn’t get emergency help, he didn’t wake Lola’s mum up. Instead he tried to cover his tracks,” the judge added.
“He moved Lola’s body around, callously photographing it and even filming it at one stage.”
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The judge described James as “very remorseful” and “genuinely devastated” about her death.
But he said she did not live in fear of Bevan and, when she wanted to, could “remove herself and her children from Kyle Bevan and to berate him when she thought he deserved it”.
The judge added that she showed a “failure to respond to warnings about Kyle Bevan and his behaviour”.
