The serious case review into the death of 12-year-old autistic boy Damian Clough makes tough reading.

In brief it says “there is no evidence at any point that any professionals thought about the family as a whole. This means there has been wholesale failure of integrated working among professionals”.

The report was carried out in the wake of the horrendous incident in which Damian was killed in an arson attack at his home.

The report points out that the failures were unconnected with this death but highlights a “serious omission” in allowing an unqualified worker to oversee his care.

More finger-pointing is going to achieve little but those agencies involved must now do a number of things. First and foremost they should issue a public apology to those who loved Damian and whose cries for help went unheeded. They must also instantly act on the 13 lessons to be learned.

Each agency should have a paragraph from the report in large letters on their office walls — “Significant change will need to occur to reduce the likelihood of similar failures to promote the welfare of disabled children in Bradford”.

The major thing which will bring true closure for Damian’s family is if the person or persons responsible for his death stopped being cowards, stepped forward and admit what they have done. Someone in our midst knows the truth. At some stage justice for Damian will be done.