A bombshell report detailing abuse committed by Sara Sharif's father, which could have saved her life, has been kept secret due to the killer's data protection rights. A damning review in November revealed that social workers had evidence of Urfan Sharif's 'extensive' domestic abuse before he began attacking ten-year-old Sara, but it was 'lost within the system'. Surrey County Council is now trying to prevent its publication over fears that it could breach Sharif's rights.
Background of Abuse
Sharif was ordered to attend a domestic violence perpetrator programme in 2016 after Sara's mother accused him of hitting her and the children. He admitted to 'extensive and wide-ranging domestic abuse' but attended only eight of the 26 sessions. Experts concluded there was 'not enough evidence' that he had changed his behaviour. Despite the report making 'shocking reading', a social worker failed to complete an analysis, and it was not added to Sara's safeguarding report. As a result, a judge fatally decided to place Sara in the care of her abusive father without appreciating the risk posed by a man with a 16-year history of attacking women and children.
The Murder
Within a short time, the 44-year-old began torturing his daughter in acts of brutality described by a judge as the worst crime he had ever encountered. Sara's body was found in the family home in Woking, Surrey. She had been battered with a cricket bat, metal pole, and a rolling pin, strangled until her neck broke, burnt, and bitten. Sara suffered more than 100 injuries when she was tied up, a plastic bag secured over her head with parcel tape, then beaten with a cricket bat, metal pole, and rolling pin, strangled until her neck broke, burnt with an iron, and bitten.
Council's Refusal to Publish
Surrey County Council has refused to publish the domestic abuse report on Sharif under Freedom of Information laws, claiming it would breach the killer's data protection rights. Woking MP Will Forster has called for the council to be placed into special measures. He said: 'This is absolutely appalling. This man is in prison for killing his daughter and Surrey County Council are concerned with data protection. If they cared as much about protecting vulnerable children, perhaps this would never have happened. This report was an opportunity to save her, but it was lost within the system. Now this is about ducking responsibility.'
Further Failures
In another blunder, the Daily Mail has learned that Sharif, a taxi driver, was given permission by the council to transport children with special educational needs to school, despite reports to police that he had abused women and children. The council granted Sharif a taxi licence for SEND transport before Sara's death because intelligence was not shared between departments.
Last November, a child safeguarding practice review into Sara's death highlighted that authorities were scared of 'causing offence'. Social workers, police, and teachers had all been aware of Sara's unexplained injuries since her birth, but professionals did not 'join the dots', missing crucial opportunities to intervene due to misplaced concerns about racial sensitivities. As a consequence, the risk posed by Sharif was 'overlooked, not acted on and underestimated by almost all professionals'.
Aftermath
Sara was killed in the family home in Woking in August 2023. Sharif fled to his native Pakistan with his accomplice wife Beinash Batool, 31, before phoning 999 to confess to the killing, thinking he had got away with it. But he was captured and extradited, and the murderous pair were jailed for life in December 2024.
A council spokesperson said: 'This request relates to the personal data of a living person. Data protection legislation determines what can and cannot be shared about a person's data and, as a public authority, Surrey County Council must observe all data protection principles when processing personal data.' Council leader Tim Oliver added: 'An independent safeguarding review was published last year. We are deeply sorry for the findings that related to us as a local authority. We take the findings with utmost seriousness.'
