Harlow Collinge: Childminder Karen Foster jailed for 12 years and seven months for killing baby boy with ‘forceful shaking’
A childminder has been jailed for 12 years and seven months for killing a nine-month-old boy by shaking him to death in frustration.
Karen Foster, who was due to go on trial for the murder of nine-month-old Harlow Collinge, pleaded guilty to the charge of manslaughter last Friday after discussions with the child’s family.
The basis of the 62-year-old’s plea was that “forceful shaking” of Harlow caused his death after he had toppled over out of his high chair, started crying and she shook him in frustration, Preston Crown Court heard.
Mr Justice Barry Cotter said in court that Harlow was a “happy, healthy, much-loved” boy, but said Foster chose to continue childminding despite ill health and pain in her hip.
He noted she worked more than she should have under Ofsted rules and said this contributed to her “loss of temper”, before adding: “You should have been a safe pair of hands to which Gemma Collinge could ensure her precious child.
“I have no doubt you snapped on the 1 March 2022, in part due to the fact that you were not coping with the demands of caring for four children. You lost your temper and he was on the receiving end.
“You shook an [almost] ten-month-old child so violently to cause devastating injuries. His death was caused in the course of an assault.”
Harlow’s relatives shouted “scumbag bitch” and “I hate you” to Foster as she was led away from the dock.
Karen Foster. Pic: Lancashire Police via PA
‘He was a happy smiling baby’
In a statement she read in court, Gemma Collinge said: “How do I explain losing my son in such horrific circumstances? Harlow was enjoying his little life. He was a happy smiling baby.”
She shared her “guilt” about having made arrangements to move him to a nursery six weeks after first using Foster as a childminder over her concerns about the number of children being looked after by the 62-year-old.
Ms Collinge then spoke about “all the red flags I missed,” before telling the court that Foster tried to comfort her at the hospital and claimed Harlow had choked on pasta.
“She even put her arms around me. I can’t think of anything more evil. It is despicable,” she said.
“I blame myself every day for my son’s death. This monster, Karen Foster, deserves nothing. I hope her actions haunt her.”
Harlow died in hospital after emergency services were called to reports of a child in cardiac arrest at a property in Hapton, Burnley, in Lancashire on 1 March 2022.
Gemma Collinge told the court Karen Foster initially claimed Harlow had choked on pasta. Pic: GoFundMe
Baby’s skin ‘purple’
Harlow had been dropped off at Foster’s address – a registered childminder with nine years’ experience – in March 2022.
Later that day she called 999 and told the operator Harlow was not breathing, and went on to tell a paramedic he had suddenly collapsed, the court heard.
“I think he’s choking, he’s had like a fit and he’s not breathing,” she had said.
By 1.23pm, Harlow’s skin was purple and mottled, he had no pulse, was not breathing and his pupils were fixed, the court heard.
The baby was then rushed to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, but died four days later.
A CT scan of the infant’s head showed significant injuries to the brain, with bleeding on both sides and swelling.
A post-mortem listed the cause of death as inflicted traumatic brain injury.
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Foster made benefit claims for injury
Anne Whyte KC, prosecuting, said when she first registered in 2014, Foster did not say she was married and lived with her husband, or that she sometimes sought help with childminding from other unregistered individuals, or that her health was poor.
She told the court Foster had made two benefit claims for Personal Independence Payments in 2018 and 2022, where she claimed she felt constantly drowsy and tired, and that sometimes she could barely move or safely carry out daily living activities.
The childminder submitted the same claims in her 2022 application, which she made just days before Harlow’s death.
She also suggested she needed help cooking and going to the toilet.
Foster minded 10 children
Ms Whyte also said that a mother whose children were being looked after by Foster complained to Ofsted in December 2021, saying she was looking after too many children, on some occasions up to 10 youngsters.
But Foster told the regulator she did not exceed the permitted number of children and lied to other parents that she had been a nurse and her husband was also a registered childminder.
Her registration permitted her to care for a maximum of six children under the age of eight years.
Only three of the six could be “young” children – defined as young until September 1 following their fifth birthday – and only one child could be under the age of one.
On certain days, Foster was exceeding the ratio permitted by Ofsted, the court heard.
Foster also faced a further allegation of assaulting a two-year-old girl in her care in 2019.
The prosecution told the judge it will ask for that count to lie on file.
NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.
The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.
Politics latest: ‘Eye-watering’ climate target announced by PM
Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.
As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.
Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.
An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.
“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”
It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.
The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.
There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.
On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.
Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.
The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.
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NHS reform: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
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Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.
“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.
“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.
“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.
“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
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Concerns from health representatives
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.
“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”
Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.
However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.
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Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.
“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”
UK
Princess of Wales’s annual carol concert to focus on ‘how much we need others in difficult times’
The Princess of Wales will host her Christmas carol concert this year, reflecting on “how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives”.
The service, which has become an annual festive event for Kate, will take place on the 6 December at Westminster Abbey, as part of her return to public duties after finishing her chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
In September, the princess said her focus is “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.
Last week, Prince William described how the past year had been “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life”, with his father, the King, also receiving cancer treatment.
Both the King and Kate joined other members of the Royal Family for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.
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Princess of Wales at Remembrance Sunday
Announcing the date of the Together At Christmas carol service, Kensington Palace said: “This year’s service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives.
“The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities.”
The Princess of Wales’s family at the service in 2021. Pic: PA
It will be the fourth time Kate has staged the carol service, which is supported by her and her husband’s Royal Foundation.
Around 1,600 people will be invited to sing carols and see musical performances by stars including Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.
Those who have supported others, either on a personal level with friends and family or through their work or volunteering, have been nominated to attend.
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Kate ‘doing really well’
The palace added that this year Kate “wanted to celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive”.
The theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story, “which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy”.
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Across the UK, 15 Together At Christmas community carol services will also be held, including at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and Blackpool Tower Circus.
The event will be filmed as part of a special programme which will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve.
Fines of £10,000 for social media bosses who don’t remove illegal knife adverts are being considered by the government.
The proposals are part of attempts by Labour to fulfil their promise to halve knife crime levels in the next decade.
The Home Office wants to introduce the measures to stop the “unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence” and ensure content is quickly removed.
Under the plans, police would be empowered to issue warnings to senior officials at online companies and demand specific adverts and content be removed – potentially within two days.
A second notice could then be given if action is not taken – with senior executives “personally liable” for a “significant fine” if nothing is done.
While the exact scale of the financial penalty has not been confirmed, a consultation suggested £10,000 for the worst offenders, according to the PA news agency.
Sir Keir Starmer previously spoke of his desire to make buying knives online harder.
In September, he hosted a meeting of a new anti-knife crime coalition including actor Idris Elba and bereaved families, among others.
Elba told the meeting: “Talk is good, but action is important.”
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Idris Elba: ‘Talk is good, action is more important’
As well as reducing the sale of knives online, the government also wants to change the law around ninja swords.
Work is currently ongoing to decide a definition of the weapons.
It comes on the back of campaigning by Pooja Kanda, the mother of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda.
Ronan was killed in Wolverhampton by two 17-year-olds in 2022, who used a weapon purchased online under an alias and collected from a Post Office.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced the “tough new sanctions”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.
“That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.”
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Commander Stephen Clayman, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on knife crime and is also heading a review of online sales of the weapons for the Home Office, said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.
“We welcome the chance to take part in the consultation and explore the most effective means of achieving this, including using the findings of the ongoing online sales review.”
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