The eight missed chances to save baby Preston from evil adoptive fathers: Did political correctness play a role in failure to stop them?
Officials missed a string of chances to save a baby sexually abused and murdered by the teacher adopting him.
Serious questions are being asked about the scrutiny faced by Jamie Varley, 37, and his boyfriend, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, after they were given little Preston Davey to look after.
Over a period of four months, the ‘pure evil’ pair physically, psychologically and sexually assaulted the child under the noses of social workers. Varley was said to have treated Preston as his ‘plaything’.
One senior social worker questioned whether officials had been manipulated by the middle-class couple – who both had professional jobs, were articulate and lived a seemingly respectable lifestyle – or if they were blinded by political correctness and a desire to promote diversity.
‘Questions need to be asked about whether these men were sufficiently challenged,’ the source said. ‘Social workers can find it difficult to confront same-sex adoptive parents due to a fear of being seen as politically incorrect.’
Preston’s birth grandmother, Debbie Davey, 66, suggested that worries about homophobia may have clouded the judgment of those supposed to be supervising his care as at least eight opportunities to protect him were missed.
‘Social services might have been hesitant to take action when they saw Preston because they may have been accused of being homophobic,’ Mrs Davey said. ‘They didn’t see through [Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley] and see what was going on.’
A post-mortem examination found Preston, who was just 13 months old when he died, suffered more than 40 injuries, including 30 visible bruises and serious internal injuries to his throat and bottom.
Preston, who was just 13 months old when he died, suffered more than 40 injuries, including 30 visible bruises and serious internal injuries to his throat and bottom
Killer Jamie Varley – a textiles teacher, who was also a head of year and safeguarding lead at a comprehensive school – lied to police
John McGowan-Fazakerley stared straight ahead and remained emotionless during the verdict
A jury took 13 hours to convict Varley – a textiles teacher, who was also a head of year and safeguarding lead at a comprehensive school – of murder, while McGowan-Fazakerley, an accounts manager for a finance firm, was at work.
Varley, described during the harrowing trial as a ‘drama queen’, fell to his knees and started dry retching in the dock at Preston Crown Court as the verdicts were returned on Monday.
McGowan-Fazakerley, who was found guilty of sexual assault, two counts of cruelty and allowing Preston’s death, stared straight ahead and remained emotionless. They will be sentenced on Thursday.
Curly-haired Preston was taken from his birth mother, herself a convicted murderer, at just five days old in 2022. He spent his first night at the home of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley in Blackpool at the end of March 2023 and died on July 27 that year.
The infant had been taken to hospital – including with suspicious bruises and a broken elbow – three times, was seen by a ‘battery of professionals’ and police were even called in the weeks before his death. Yet no one raised the alarm.
On Monday, Oldham Council, which was responsible for Preston at the time of his death as his adoption had not been finalised, said no social workers had been disciplined or sacked in connection with the case but insisted an independent child safeguarding practice review was under way.
Mrs Davey sobbed as the verdicts were delivered. She said she was angry no social worker had been suspended or fired.
‘Everyone involved with Preston is still working,’ she added. ‘That is not right.’
Her daughter, Sarah, 42, Preston’s mother, was jailed aged 14 for the 1998 torture and murder of a pensioner.
Around 3,000 children are adopted every year in England and Wales, including around 100 babies. There is no greater chance of abuse among gay adoptive parents, and one in five adopted children are now placed in the care of same-sex couples.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, of Lancashire Police, said Preston had been ‘betrayed’ by the people who should have loved and cared for him.
‘It is not often in this job that you encounter pure evil,’ he said. ‘Anybody who has followed this trial will no doubt understand why I place Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley in that category.’
THE EIGHT MISSED CHANCES
1. May 11, 2023: Suspicious 999 call
McGowan-Fazakerley dials 999 but when the operator picks up, there is no response and Varley is heard saying: ‘Put it down.’ NHS line 111 is then called to report Preston having breathing issues but a call back goes unanswered.
2. May 25: First hospital visit
Varley rushes an unresponsive Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He tells staff the infant has suffered a nosebleed and Preston has a suspected seizure. A nurse spots two bruises on his forehead. The pair explain Preston bumped his head learning to crawl.
3. June 30: Second hospital visit
When the couple take Preston back to A&E with a rash, a nurse points out a head bruise. Varley shows her a video of him pulling a toy box on to himself by way of explanation.
4. July 4: Social worker visits
Preston’s social worker Amy Shepherdson visits and finds him looking ‘a little pale’ and ‘not himself’. Ms Shepherdson puts his mood down to the fact he’s recently been unwell.
5. July 6: Back to hospital again
Varley takes Preston to hospital for the third time as he is not moving his left arm properly. Doctors diagnose a fractured elbow and accept Varley’s explanation that he twisted it accidentally laying him down in his cot.
6. July 7: Independent social worker visit
Helen Magee, for Oldham Council, visits to carry out a scheduled ‘Child Looked After Review’. Writing as if to Preston himself, she says: ‘You had a few hospital admissions of late and this made me ponder as to whether there was a problem… I decided there wasn’t.’
7. July 7-13: Confession to colleague
Varley tells a colleague at his school he’s having ‘dark thoughts’ about drowning or suffocating Preston. But he lies by saying his social worker knows about his mental state, so the colleague doesn’t take it any further.
8. July 13: Headteacher welfare visit
The school’s headteacher visits Varley at home over claims he’s made to colleagues that he is feeling suicidal. She leaves with no concerns.
Varley, who had taken a year off work to look after Preston, resented being at home all day while McGowan-Fazakerley was at work, the trial heard.
Described as snap-happy and active on social media, he took hundreds of pictures and videos of Preston. These, detectives said, were to show the outside world that they were a ‘perfect’ family and that the infant was adjusting well to his new ‘daddies’.
Curly-haired Preston was taken from his birth mother, herself a convicted murderer, at just five days old in 2022
Preston Davey with his mother Sarah Davey, who carried out a horrific crime as a teenager
Varley, left, and McGowan-Fazakerley, right, were convicted after a trial of over seven weeks
But alongside images of Preston giggling on swings in the park, or smiling in his high-chair, sinister indecent photographs were found on Varley’s mobile phone.
In early July, just a few weeks before Preston’s death, Varley told a colleague he was having ‘dark thoughts’ about suffocating or drowning the boy. On the day Preston died, he claimed to have left the child in the bath for a couple of minutes and returned to find him submerged. Medics worked in vain for 50 minutes to save his life.
Jurors were shown body-worn footage from police officers called to the hospital to speak to Varley. Mr Fallows said: ‘You can see he was walking around theatrically, threw himself to the floor at one point. I referred to it as a pantomime, and that’s very much how it felt, buying himself time to concoct a story to explain what he had done to that little boy.’
He added: ‘I think Jamie Varley has sought to deceive right from day one. He is a manipulative character, or he certainly had tried to be, [and] we’ve been able to show him for what he is.
‘I don’t see any evidence of regret, remorse or actual sorrow for Preston Davey. I think any tears have been around Jamie Varley, an arrogant, self-centred liar.’
The jury also convicted him of 24 other charges, including sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, cruelty and taking and distributing indecent images.
A spokesman for the NSPCC said Preston’s death would ‘leave many people asking how such a tragedy could have happened’.
A spokesman for Oldham Council said they were ‘thankful’ Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley had been convicted.
‘Our thoughts remain with Preston’s family, loved ones, and the many people affected by this case,’ he said.
