free gallery feminine and glamour: February 2010

Khyra Ishaq starved to death despite kitchen full of food.

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Her mother Angela Gordon was today cleared of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility and convicted of the girl's manslaughter.
Terrifyingly-thin Khyra Ishaq died when her fragile body succumbed to infection after months of being beaten with a bamboo cane whenever she ate too much food.

Junaid Abuhamza was the child's step-father.
Today the court heard that Khyra was starved to death as bowls of fresh fruit, tins of sweets and shelves of groceries filled the family kitchen.
But her agonising and drawn-out death occurred despite four visits to the family home by five officials - they were teachers, police, social workers and council home-schooling experts.
Five other children, who were also in the care of Gordon, 35, and her partner Junaid Abuhamza, 31, were 'similarly starved' and assaulted, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Jurors were also told that the girl's Muslim-convert step-father Abuhamza, who pleaded guilty to child cruelty, suffered from schizophrenia and saw both the house and Khyra as being possessed by an evil spirit.
Birmingham City Council, which was aware of concerns about Khyra's welfare almost five months before her death, came under fire within days of the tragedy in May 2008.
It emerged during the trial that the council had been notified of concerns about the child's welfare when she was withdrawn from school in December 2007.
The deputy headteacher of Khyra's school made three phone calls to social services within the space of 24 hours to express concerns for her welfare.

This photo of a well-stocked fridge at Khyra's family home was shown to jurors as evidence that the child was deliberately starved to death. The kitchen was kept locked with a bolt 'out of reach by the children'
It is known that several visits were then made to Khyra's home, although she was seen by social workers on only one occasion - for around ten minutes on her mother's doorstep.
Among those who called at Gordon's terraced home in Handsworth, was social worker Ranjit Mann.
Ms Mann told Birmingham Crown Court she called at the property on January 28, 2008, but no-one was in.
Ms Mann, who never met Gordon or Khyra, had no power to compel the mother to arrange another visit and passed the matter on to colleague Sanya Scott before leaving the educational welfare department on February 1.
Ms Scott and another social worker, senior practitioner Anne Gondo, went to Leyton Road more than three weeks later, on February 21.

On that occasion, Khyra and two other children were brought to the door by Gordon, but neither social worker saw any cause for concern.
Giving evidence during the re-trial of Gordon and Abuhamza, Ms Scott estimated that the visit had lasted 30 minutes and that she had seen Khyra for about 10 minutes.
Khyra had appeared to be well, Ms Scott said, adding that she had no concerns about her health or well-being.
Recalling the same visit, Ms Gondo told the court that a man she now presumed to be Abuhamza had answered the door and refused to identify himself.
She told the jury she had not believed that further visits were necessary.
Another visit to the house had been made 13 days earlier by Irving Horne, a council education department adviser, and Richard Lewis, a senior educational social worker, with a view to helping Gordon to educate Khyra at home.
They were allowed into the home on the morning of February 8, but during the hour-long visit, no children were seen.
Mr Horne, who also gave evidence at the trial, said: 'I was told that the family had had a late night and the children were still in bed.'
He paid a second visit to the home on April 16, but after knocking on the door 'several times' there was no response.