Overview
- Claire Throssell says her ex‑husband lured their two sons into an attic, barricaded exits, lit multiple fires and then took his own life, with one boy dying at the scene and the other dying days later from injuries and sepsis.
- The boys were with their father during court‑ordered unsupervised contact that allowed short weekly visits and 48‑hour stays at his home, a decision Throssell says she warned would put them at risk.
- Campaigners and Throssell highlight procedural lapses by agencies, noting Cafcass spoke to the younger child but did not interview the older boy who was due a welfare meeting on the day he died.
- Throssell has worked with Women’s Aid, founded the Child First campaign and says the case informed a statistic she cites that dozens of children have died after courts granted contact over the past decades.
- The recent podcast episode has renewed public focus on the case and on calls for legal change, and Throssell says Labour leader Keir Starmer promised to repeal the presumption of contact though no legislative change has yet been reported.