Arthur Labinjo Hughes, six year old tragic victim of the Holocaust, has argued that Arthur’s father and mother should be held in prison.

Little Arthur was tortured and beaten before being murdered by Emma Tustin in her Solihull house.

Following the case, there was national grief. Ministers pledged action. Arthur Hughes was sent to prison for 21 years. Tustin was sentenced at a maximum term of 29.

If the Court of Appeal changes the sentences, however, then the killings might be subject to longer imprisonment.

Arthur’s maternal grandfather, Peter Halcrow, 61, has publicly agreed with the decision by Attorney General Suella Braverman that will see judges ponder whether or not they will increase their time behind bars.

Dunkeld, Perthshire: Mr Halcrow told the Sun that Hughes and Tustin both should be sentenced to ‘whole lives terms’ and that life should include this horrible case. 

Peter Halcrow, 61, the grandfather of Arthur-Labinjo-Hughes, has publicly agreed with the decision by Attorney General Suella Braverman that will see judges ponder whether or not they will increase their time behind bars

Peter Halcrow, 61, the grandfather of Arthur-Labinjo-Hughes, has publicly agreed with the decision by Attorney General Suella Braverman that will see judges ponder whether or not they will increase their time behind bars

Six-year-old Arthur was beaten and tortured before his murder at the hands of his stepmother

Arthur, six years old, was tortured and beaten before being murdered by his stepmother

Emma Tustin

Following the death of Arthur Hughes in his father’s murder, Thomas Hughes was sent to prison for 21 years.

Court heard that Arthur had been seen by social workers in the initial national lockdown, just two months prior to his death at Solihull (West Midlands), in June 2013. The social workers concluded that Arthur had no safeguarding issues and closed his file. 

Hughes and Tustin starved Hughes, forced them to feed him salt-laden meals, and left him alone for over 14 hours each day. This was a cruel, painful, and even hellish treatment that endured until the end of Hughes’s life. 

He was left with an unsurvivable brain injury while in the sole care of his father’s ‘evil’ partner Tustin. 

Arthur died the following morning in hospital, his body covered with 130 bruises.

He continued, “I never supported the death penalty. I understand that courts can make mistakes. But they have lost their right to life.”

‘It will burden taxpayers but, as we don’t have capital punishment, they should certainly never leave prison as long as they live for such cruelty and inhumanity.’

Following an eight week trial Tustin, a’manipulative’ as well as ‘calculating’ verdict was unanimously reached. Hughes, Tustin’s father, was found guilty of manslaughter after encouraging the murder.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes waking up hours before he collapsed from fatal injuries on  CCTV

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes waking up hours before he collapsed from fatal injuries on  CCTV

The photograph taken by Arthur's paternal grandmother prompted a referral to social services, however the bruises were put down to 'play-fighting' with another youngster

Arthur’s grandmother took the photograph. Social services were referred to Arthur, but they determined that Arthur was merely ‘play fighting’ with another child.

Hughes’s “infatuation” for Tustin “obliterated his love for him,” Mr Justice Mark Wall QC, the sentencing judge, said. Wall sentenced Hughes to 21-years in jail.

Ms Braverman, who referred the case before the Court of Appeal said, “This is an extremely disturbing and disturbing case that involves a clearly vulnerable young boy.”

Thomas Hughes and Emma Tustin abused their positions of trust in a gross manner and exposed an innocent child they were supposed to protect from continued physical and emotional abuse.

“I am aware of how difficult this case is for the public, but I have the right to determine if the sentence seems too light based upon the facts.

“I’ve carefully reviewed the facts of the case and have made the decision to refer these sentences to Court of Appeal because I find them too high.”

The Court of Appeal has yet to set a date.