Care of Preston Davey to be investigated in inquiry after ‘pure evil’ murder
Inquiry will look at whether any opportunities were missed during the care of Preston Davey
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
The death of Preston Davey, and conviction of his adoptive parents first of Staining and later of Grimsargh, will just be the start of a process of trying to find answers on how something like this has been allowed to happen.
Baby Preston was born in prison and placed into foster care at five-days-old. He received treatment by the the NHS in Blackpool and social services in Oldham in his short life.
Questions will be asked - of Blackpool Victoria Hospital in particular - about whether any opportunities for intervention were missed ahead of his death in 2023.
That is the focus of today’s issue which may make for difficult reading.
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Lancashire briefing
🏠 A government planning inspector has been told that building 350 homes on the former Camelot Theme Park site in Chorley would bring “a great deal of public good with precious little harm”. That was the message from Story Homes – the firm behind the proposal – on the final day of a public inquiry into the plans. Crucially, the hearing was also advised that Chorley Council was not contesting an appeal lodged by the developer over the Charnock Richard project – and agreed that planning permission should be granted for it. Last week’s three-day inquiry came after the authority initially failed to reach a decision on the proposed development within the time limit for doing so – a situation it blamed on Lancashire County Council for delays in providing highways advice. Story Homes subsequently appealed to the independent Planning Inspectorate over the so-called ‘non-determination’ of its outline application – meaning an inspector will now decide whether or not the Park Hall Road scheme can go ahead.
🌹 A Lancashire council says it tried to persuade government officials not to put it into special measures after the authority rejected two major planning applications and had the decisions overturned on appeal. Labour-run Rossendale council has criticised the decision by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook to hand it a ‘designation notice’ for under-performance linked to planning appeals. The move means developers can now chose to bypass the council and submit applications directly to national planning inspectors. Mr Pennycook issued the notices to nine councils, based on planning appeal rates where more than 10 per cent of appeals were allowed by inspectors following refusals by councils – or other issues such as failing to make a decision. Rossendale Council had the highest rate of planning appeals allowed by inspectors, at 15.4 per cent, of the nine councils in the 24-month period to late 2025. But a spokesperson for the authority said it had told the Ministry of Housing Local Government and Communities (MHCLG) it did not believe designation was “appropriate”.
⚽ A proposed traffic regulation order around Burnley FC’s ground has kicked off an uproar among civic leaders in the town, who have raised concerns about its impact on everyone from churchgoers to people in assisted living accommodation. The new traffic order from Lancashire County Council will allow the Clarets to impose further road closures around their stadium, at will, which could prevent people from accessing key services on a match day. This is because the proposed order would allow a designated match day commander from the police to impose a closure on further routes near the stadium, including Yorkshire Street, Todmorden Road and half a mile of Belvedere Road, all extending from the traffic lights near Turf Moor. In addition to the usual closure of Harry Potts Way. A number of services that would be closed off to much of the public when this takes place, include accessing the town’s registry office – raising concerns about whether births, deaths, or marriages could even be registered on a match day.
Care of Preston Davey to be investigated in inquiry after ‘pure evil’ murder
By Michael Holmes
An inquiry into the short life of Preston Davey, who was sexually abused by his new adoptive fathers before being murdered by one of them, will look into his hat-trick of admissions to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in the run up to his death.
The baby boy was treated at the Vic, in Whinney Heys Road, three times in the four months before his death in 2023, and was later found to have suffered around 40 deliberate injuries, including to his mouth, throat and bottom.
The child protection review can get under way now that South Shore Academy textiles teacher Jamie Varley, 37, and his ex-public schoolboy and financial sales manager boyfriend John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, both then of Staining Road in Staining and later of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh, have been convicted.
The pair’s trial heard some of the details - but now the review, which was suspended while court proceedings were ongoing, will officially examine every area of Preston’s life, from his birth in prison on June 16 2022 and placement in foster care at five days old, to his adoption by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley on April 1 2023 and subsequent treatment by the NHS in Blackpool and social services in Oldham.
It will delve into the facts and aim to provide answers to some tough questions relating to the 13-month-old’s life and death.
An element of the review is expected to specifically look at whether any chances were missed during the care of Preston before his death.
Varley denied murder, manslaughter, and multiple child sex offences, including making indecent images of Preston, who he had renamed Elijah, and abusing him.
After an eight-week trial, he was found guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.
McGowan-Fazakerley denied allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and sexual assault of a child.
He was found guilty.
The couple’s trial, which exposed one of Britain’s worst child abuse cases and sickened the nation, was told about Preston’s hospital visits before his murder.
The first, on May 25, saw Varley rush into A&E with the boy at about 11.10am, telling paediatric sister Zoe Hellowell: “He’s not breathing.”
Hellowell said Preston was breathing, albeit ineffectively, but unresponsive and floppy.
He also had bruises on either side of his forehead.
Nurse Holly Edwards raised the alarm and police were contacted, with a medical report describing the injuries as “unexplained” and “inconsistent with a version of events given…”
At the time, Preston was diagnosed with a chest infection and recovered within four hours, though an expert witness for the prosecution threw the diagnosis into doubt - suggesting another cause for the boy’s symptoms.
In a statement read before the jury, Dr Mark Rosenthal, consultant respiratory paediatrician, said the condition Preston was in on the day of his hospital visit pointed towards a “non-accidental hypoxic event”, with causes including suffocation, aspiration or bleeding into the lungs.
He said Preston’s history of arriving at the hospital very unwell, confused and acidotic - when there is too much acid in the blood - along with having a seizure and then recovering could never be down to an infection.
No police action followed.
