Councillors who made budget cuts in children's services at the time of the Victoria Climbie case have held on to their positions despite attempts to oust them.

Ann John, leader of Brent Council, and Mary Cribbin, lead member for health and social care, gave evidence to the Laming inquiry and were criticised for the part they played in reducing spending on services between 1997 and 1999.

Last week a Conservative motion to remove them from their posts was defeated.

In 1998-9, just £14.5m of the £28m standard spending assessment was spent on children's services.

By mid-1999, when the council came into contact with Victoria, the department was, according to Lord Laming, in a "parlous state".

In the Victoria Climbie Report, Laming criticised senior managers and councillors who had claimed not to know the effect that starving the department of cash was having on services.