A major independent review has concluded that the murder of 10-year-old Sara Sharif was a preventable tragedy, exposing a litany of catastrophic failures by the authorities tasked with protecting her.
The report, published on Thursday 13 November 2025, found that despite a great deal of information being available to police, social services, health, and education professionals throughout her life, Sara was not protected from abuse and torture.
A Litany of Missed Opportunities
The review identified multiple specific points where different action could have saved Sara. In a critical failure just days before her death, a Surrey Council worker attempted a home visit on 7 August 2023 but went to the wrong address due to an out-of-date detail on a digital system.
Tragically, this missed visit was scheduled for the following month. Sara died on 9 August 2023, after suffering a blow to the stomach with a metal pole the previous day. Her father, Urfan Sharif, then fled to Pakistan with her stepmother, Beinash Batool, her uncle, Faisal Malik, and her siblings. Her body was discovered in a bunk bed at the family home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August after Sharif called UK police to confess he had beaten her too much.
The review stated that had the council's own policy of conducting a home visit within 10 days of a child being withdrawn from school been followed, the abuse would likely have been uncovered.
Systemic Failures and Professional Manipulation
The report described Sara's family life as complicated but was unequivocal in its findings. It concluded that the seriousness of Urfan Sharif's domestic abuse was overlooked, not acted on, and underestimated by almost all professionals involved.
Shockingly, the review found that safeguarding professionals appeared to have been groomed and manipulated by Sharif over the years. Sara was known to services even before her birth, and court proceedings began soon after to potentially place her in care.
In a pivotal and fatal decision, Sara was placed in the care of her father and stepmother in 2019 after Sharif made allegations against her birth mother, Olga. The review described Sharif and Batool as a lethal combination who should never have been trusted to look after her. Text messages revealed that the abuse began soon after this move.
Warnings Ignored and a Voice Unheard
The failures continued until the very end. In March 2023, Sara returned to school after a two-day absence with bruising to her cheek, eye, and chin, and was noted as being quiet and coy. While the school made a referral, social services closed the case within days without involving the police.
Sharif deceitfully claimed the marks were from machinery used after her premature birth—information the review confirmed was false. Furthermore, the report noted that Sara's decision to wear a hijab from the age of eight in 2021 had hidden injuries to her face and head in her final years. Expert advice suggested it was highly unusual for a child so young to make this choice independently.
The review concluded that opportunities were lost to join up all the dots and that Sara's voice, expressed through her changed demeanour, was not heard. She appeared cheerful and loyal to her father, who systematically manipulated both her and the professionals who could have intervened.
Following the review's publication, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza both stated the murder was avoidable. Surrey Police called it one of the most shocking and tragic cases they have ever investigated. The government has pledged to implement the report's recommendations fully to help prevent such a failure from ever happening again.
