IPCC investigates police handling of Hamzah Khan case in Bradford

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating West Yorkshire Police’s handling of the case of Hamzah Khan, the four-year-old found starved to death at his home in Bradford in 2011.

The police watchdog intends to examine the force’s actions after it received concerns about Khan’s welfare, and why the matter was not referred to it following the discovery of his body nearly two years after his death.

“The death of Hamzah Khan was a truly shocking example of the most cruel neglect imaginable and at the heart of it lies the loss of a young life,” said IPCC commissioner Cindy Butts, who is overseeing the investigation.

“Our investigation will examine what action West Yorkshire Police took and also why the contact was not referred to us in 2011.”

The investigation follows the trial of Khan’s mother, Amanda Hutton, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in October for the manslaughter of the child and child cruelty.

In November last year a serious case review found the police and other agencies had been in contact with the family prior to his death, but had not picked up on the danger the children were in.