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The Brent social worker who was responsible for withdrawing police protection from Victoria Climbie the day after she was admitted to hospital has told the Laming inquiry that she would have acted differently had she been aware of a previous referral regarding Victoria, writes Sally Gillen.

Michelle Hines, who worked in Brent's child protection team, received a referral on Victoria's admission to Central Middlesex Hospital with suspected non-accidental injuries at 5pm on 14 July, 1999.

Forty minutes later she placed Victoria under police protection, but did not visit her in hospital because she said Brent's procedures stated that children aged under 14 could not be interviewed without the permission of parents.

Hines said: "At the time, I was told the family were not known, from what I can remember, the family were not known at that time."

The inquiry heard that Martin Punch, a member of the administration team responsible for logging referrals, made a connection between a previous referral made on the 18 June. But Hines said she was not made aware of this.

Asked whether knowledge of the previous referral would have altered her handling of the 14 July referral, Hines said that she would have not lifted police protection until she had spoken to the childminder, the hospital, Marie-Therese Kouao and to Victoria.

Hines said: "I was going to carry out my investigation, as I said, the following morning. The child was in a safe place. The following morning the case had a completely different stance on it."

A doctor contacted Hines and told her that Victoria's injuries were not non-accidental, but were the result of scabies. Hines then lifted police protection of Victoria and passed the case to the child in need team.

Meanwhile, Brent council's lawyer David Turner QC gave assurances to the Climbie inquiry that Brent did not place unaccompanied minors in bed and breakfast accommodation.

He was responding to concerns raised by Lord Laming who had interrupted proceedings the following day to ask that enquiries were made at Brent following evidence by Edward Armstrong.

Turner told the inquiry: "A check has been undertaken of all current placements in bed and breakfast accommodation, and I can confirm that there are no such unaccompanied children, under the age of 16, in such accommodation."

Record checks at the council had failed to turn up evidence of a 13-year-old girl who was discharged in 1999 and who was referred in 2001.

Turner added: "We have also tried to track the case of a child whose mother received a custodial sentence and who allegedly did not receive an appropriate service from Brent social services. We have not been able to identify such a case, but we are continuing to make enquiries."

Laming said he found Turner’s report "very reassuring".

Next week, senior members of Brent council's staff are due to give evidence including Mike Boyle, who was director of social services when the council received a critical Social Services Inspectorate report in 1996.