Judges who let Sara Sharif live with killer dad named after court ruling

Ten-year-old Sara was found with multiple injuries at a home in Woking, Surrey, in August (Surrey Police/PA)
-Credit:Surrey Police/PA


The three judges who let young Sara Sharif live with her killer dad before he murdered his daughter have been named following a Court of Appeal ruling. Judge Alison Raeside, Judge Peter Nathan and Judge Sally Williams were involved in family court proceedings relating to the 10-year-old in the years before her death.

The last of three set of hearings saw Sara placed in the home of her dad Urfan Sharif and stepmum Beinash Batool. The pair murdered Sara at the same address in Woking, Surrey, in 2023.

They were jailed for life for their crime last year. Restrictions were previously in place which banned the press from naming the judges involved in family court proceedings between 2013 and 2019.

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The press was also barred from reporting the names of other professionals involved in the case. The High Court had ruled they 'acted within the parameters that law and social work practice set for them'.

But the Court of Appeal ruled on January 24 that the media could name the judges at 10am on Friday January 31. The move was made in the interests of open justice, as all three judges wanted 'to convey their profound shock, horror and sadness about what happened to Sara Sharif'.

Urfan Sharif
Urfan Sharif -Credit:PA

Documents previously disclosed to the media showed that Surrey County Council was involved with the Sharif family for several years before Sara’s death. This included beginning care proceedings for her just a week after her birth.

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The authority first had contact with Urfan and Sara's mum Olga Sharif in 2010 – more than two years before Sara was born. It had received 'referrals indicative of neglect' relating to Sara’s two older siblings, known only as Z and U.

Judge Raeside, who remains an active judge, dealt with the majority of the proceedings related to Sara. Judges Nathan and Williams – who have both since retired – were involved to a lesser degree.

The first set of proceedings heard how the council had 'a number of concerns in relation to the care that (Olga Sharif) and Mr Sharif provide Z and U and are likely to provide to Sara'. Judge Raeside approved the children being placed under supervision orders.

This meant that the children stayed in their parents' care – a position supported by Surrey County Council, the children’s guardian and Sara’s parents. Sara and her two siblings were taken into police protection in November 2014 after Z was found with an arm injury consistent with an adult bite mark.

Olga later accepted a caution after being charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Raeside extended the same order for a week the next day.

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Judge Williams made an interim care order for Sara and one sibling as proceedings continued in 2015 – her only involvement in the case. At the end of the same set of proceedings, a hearing before Judge Raeside was told that the authority was 'extremely concerned' that Sara and U were 'likely to suffer significant emotional and physical harm in their parents’ care', as both alleged the other was violent.

But the council still concluded that 'the risk can be managed' if Sara was returned to her mother’s care with supervised contact with her father. This position was also supported by the children’s guardian.

Judge Raeside approved the plan in May 2015. In 2019, Sara was moved to the property where she was later murdered, following her accusations of physical abuse by her mother - which were never proved.

In a report for a final hearing in October 2019, a social worker said they assessed that 'Urfan and Beinash are able to meet Sara and (U’s) needs for safety, stability, emotional warmth and guidance'. They added that Urfan 'appears to have the children’s welfare at heart'.

The move was supported by the children’s guardian and Sara’s parents, while it was also approved by Judge Raeside. Sara was murdered in August 2023 after a campaign of abuse.

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Urfan and Batool were jailed for life last December. Urfan was told to spend a minimum of 40 years behind bars, while Batool was given a minimum term of 33 years.

Sara's uncle Faisal Malik was jailed for 16 years for causing or allowing her death. Last December, Mr Justice Williams ruled that the media could access documents from the historic proceedings.

But he said that social workers, guardians and judges could not be named. He said that decisions of professionals involved were 'not obviously flawed' and the decision of Judge Raeside to send Sara to her father’s home was 'indicated by faithful application of law and practice mandated'.

He said: "In this case, the evidence suggests that social workers, guardians, lawyers and judiciary acted within the parameters that law and social work practice set for them. Certainly to my reasonably well-trained eye there is nothing, save the benefit of hindsight, which indicates that the decisions reached in 2013, 2015 or 2019 were unusual or unexpected.

"Based on what was known at the time and applying the law at the time I don’t see the judge or anyone else having any real alternative option." Several media organisations appealed against the restriction on naming judges.

Appeal judges ruled earlier this month that the judges should be named, finding that Mr Justice Williams was incorrect in his decision to anonymise them. Sir Geoffrey Vos, sitting with Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Warby, added that while judges 'are required to show resilience and fortitude', they were 'not required to tolerate bullying or abusive behaviour'.

He said: "It should be noted that the historic judges had, as in all cases of this type, the difficult task of assessing the risk of future harm which could only be done against the background of the evidence before them."