British prime minister Gordon Brown promised to examine the country's system for protecting children yesterday after a man was jailed for life for the repeated rape of his two daughters during more than two decades of abuse.
The case in Sheffield, northern England, which sparked comparisons with Josef Fritzl, the Austrian who imprisoned and raped his daughter for 24 years, has alarmed the nation.
It comes barely two weeks after a mother and two men were found guilty of causing the death of the woman's 17-month-old boy following horrific abuse.
Mr Brown promised urgent investigations into what he called "unspeakable" abuse.
"People will rightly want to know how such abuse could go on for so long without the authorities, and the wider public services, discovering it and taking action," Mr Brown said. "If there is a change to be made in the system and the system has failed, then we will change the system," the prime minister told parliament.
The incest case, subject to strict reporting restrictions to protect the identity of his daughters, followed the conviction of a mother, her boyfriend and their lodger for causing the death of Baby P.
The toddler, who was beaten, died despite repeated visits from local authorities responsible for child welfare.
"Baby P and the Sheffield father are just the tip of an iceberg of abuse and neglect, which needs now to be addressed strategically by government," Labour MP Graham Allen said. -