Last week, an 11-year-old child went missing in Wandsworth. She was found at the weekend. The same child also went missing in August – just three months ago. Both times public appeals were made, the child was named and their picture posted in order to ask the public for help.
On behalf of the public, yesterday we tried to find out what had happened, what action the council and the police had taken, and whether the appropriate rules and laws had been followed.
What we discovered was concerning.
The police won’t explain what they did or even if they followed statutory guidance and instead said it was a council matter. The council didn’t even respond despite the urgency and repeat requests for any information.
When an 11-year-old goes missing twice in three months and authorities won’t answer basic questions about their safety, something is not right. And unfortunately, it fits a pattern that has led to numerous documented failures in the past.
We hope this 11-year-old – who the police asked us not to name despite having twice named them themselves – isn’t slipping through the same cracks.
What we asked
We wanted to know three things: Do safeguarding procedures exist for children who go missing more than once? Were those procedures followed in this case? What action was taken between August and November to prevent this child going missing again?
The Met’s response was to pass the buck. They told us safeguarding is the council’s job and directed all questions to Wandsworth’s children’s services.
But that’s not how it works. Police have legal duties to assess risk every time a child is reported missing and to alert the council when a child goes missing repeatedly. They can’t simply say “not our problem.”
The council? Multiple attempts to reach Cllr Judi Gasser, the cabinet member for children. Multiple follow-ups with the council and Gasser. Complete silence.
Why this matters
When authorities won’t answer basic questions about protecting a child, you have to ask: is this an isolated failure or part of something bigger?
The evidence, unfortunately, suggests the latter. Wandsworth Council has been censured five times in four months by independent investigators for failing to protect vulnerable people. That’s likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Last month, a family was awarded more than £10,000 after the council left them in limbo for two years. When a serious incident forced them to evacuate their home in January 2024, a council officer told them no help was available because they were private tenants – which was wrong. The family’s doctors documented Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The council ignored the medical evidence for months.
In August, a domestic abuse survivor spent two months sleeping on night buses while the council demanded more paperwork. She told them in July she was “rough sleeping on buses” and couldn’t schedule essential surgery because she had nowhere to recover. They finally housed her in September, then claimed they’d acted because she disclosed domestic abuse. They’d known about it since July.
That same month came the care home case. A vulnerable man died after months of poor care at a home commissioned by the council. The council closed his case without telling his family. When a crucial safeguarding meeting was held, a council officer attended but kept their microphone on mute “because they did not know what to say.”
Earlier this year, Wandsworth received the second-worst rating from the housing regulator for serious safety failures. When questioned about failing to protect vulnerable residents from fire risks, the council’s former leader told officers: “You’re the freeholder. Safeguarding is your job.”
The common thread? A system that doesn’t respond until forced to. That dismisses evidence. That passes responsibility elsewhere. That makes vulnerable people fight for protection they should receive automatically.
Now we have an 11-year-old who went missing twice in three months, and the same pattern is visible: silence, deflection, no answers.
What should happen when a child goes missing twice
The rules are clear. When a child goes missing, police must check: is this child at risk? If a child goes missing more than once, that’s a red flag. Police should alert the council’s children’s services.
The council must then act fast. Someone should talk to the child within 72 hours of them coming home to understand why they left and whether they’re safe. If a child keeps going missing, agencies are supposed to meet and work out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
The whole point is to stop it happening again.
Did any of that happen between August and November? We don’t know. Nobody will say.
What happens next
Normal channels have failed. So we’ve filed Freedom of Information requests with both the Met and Wandsworth Council.
We’re asking for their written policies on safeguarding children who go missing more than once. We’re asking whether those policies were followed in this case. We’re asking how many children in Wandsworth go missing repeatedly and how many get help. We’re asking for records showing whether police and council actually talked to each other about this child.
They have 20 working days to respond. Under FOI law, they can’t just stay silent.
We’ll report what we find. Because when safeguarding systems fail, children remain at risk. And Wandsworth Council has lost the right to benefit of the doubt.
If you have information about safeguarding failures in Wandsworth, contact news@putney.news in confidence.
Accountability Statement
We contacted: The Metropolitan Police, Wandsworth Council and the Cabinet member for children Cllr Judi Gasser.
Requests sent: 24 November 2025
Metropolitan Police
Press bureau
Status: Declined to answer safeguarding questions.
Questions asked (click to expand)
What safeguarding review, if any, is triggered when a child goes missing repeatedly?
Is the Met satisfied that appropriate safeguarding measures are in place?
How many children in Wandsworth have been reported missing more than once in the past 12 months?
What safeguarding protocols are triggered when a child is reported missing more than once within a short timeframe?
What referrals, if any, were made to Wandsworth Council’s children’s services in relation to the two missing incidents?
What action did the Met take to assess risk and coordinate safeguarding response across both incidents?
Cllr Judi Gasser
Cabinet Member for Children’s Services
Status: No response.
Questions asked (click to expand)
What safeguarding processes are triggered when a child in Wandsworth goes missing more than once?
What role does the council play alongside the police in these cases?
Are you confident the current system is working effectively?
Did the council receive a safeguarding referral from the Met after the August incident?
If yes: what action did the council take, and was it in place before the November disappearance?
If no: why not, and what does that tell us about multi-agency safeguarding in Wandsworth?
Wandsworth Council
Press office
Status: No response.
Questions asked (click to expand)
What safeguarding processes are triggered when a child in Wandsworth goes missing more than once?
What role does the council play alongside the police in these cases?
Are you confident the current system is working effectively?
Did the council receive a safeguarding referral from the Met after the August incident?
If yes: what action did the council take, and was it in place before the November disappearance?
If no: why not, and what does that tell us about multi-agency safeguarding in Wandsworth?
This feels completely irresponsible. By all means pursue these questions, but why are you publishing this without any answers. A vulnerable 11 year old is at the centre of this. The police have asked you not to post her photo and name as she is a young child. Now she has been found, the public does not have a right to know and organisations have a right to protect her. You should think about doing the same.
Thank you for your comment – these are fair questions and we understand the discomfort. But we’d ask you to consider a few points.
We did exactly as police requested. We have not named this child nor published their photo. The police themselves named and pictured the child twice – in August and again last week – during their public appeals. We have done the opposite.
What we have done is ask basic questions: What safeguarding measures were in place? Were proper procedures followed? What happened between August and November to prevent this child going missing again? These are questions the public has every right to ask, and authorities have a duty to answer.
Instead, the Met passed responsibility to the council. The council didn’t respond at all – despite multiple attempts and urgent follow-ups. That silence is itself newsworthy.
You suggest we should simply trust that organisations are protecting this child. We wish we could. But Wandsworth Council has been censured five times in four months for failing vulnerable people. An officer stayed on mute during a safeguarding meeting “because they did not know what to say.” A domestic abuse survivor slept on night buses for two months while the council demanded more paperwork. This is the documented record.
Given that history, we do not believe it is responsible to look away and assume the system is working. The opposite, in fact.
Since publication, the Met has confirmed it will investigate. We have still heard nothing from the council.
We understand this is uncomfortable reading. But discomfort is not a reason to stay silent when a child may be at risk – it’s precisely the reason to speak up.