Mercy Muroki: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' sadistic stepmother and dad deserve a whole life order

Murdered tot Arthur Labinjo-Hughes has sent shockwaves across the country, becoming a catalyst for action on protecting children.

The government, yesterday, ordered a national review into the multi-agency failings that allowed little Arthur to be so desperately failed.

A separate inspection led by schools inspectorate Ofsted, and the Care and Quality Commission, and emergency services will also look into safeguarding in Solihull - where Arthur was killed.

And the attorney General's Office has also confirmed the sentences served to the pair who killed Arthur will be reviewed, to determine whether it was too low.

And I think the harrowing details of this crime are worth recounting because we can never forget the utter depravity of Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes, Arthur's stepmother and Dad. Arthur was subjected to a protracted campaign of torture and abuse over months and months.

He was denied food and drink, and was made to stand alone in a corridor for up to 14 hours of day as punishment. On one sweltering Summer's day, Tustin and Hughes were pictured sat in the living room eating ice cream as Arthur stood alone in a corridor baking in a onesie.

The court was also shown text messages sent by Arthur's step mum, saying the tot was making her life hell and fantasising about abusing the little boy.

The sadistic monsters even shared voice recordings with each other of Arthur begging for food, and with the child crying out 'nobody loves me'.

The Drs found 130 bruises on Arthur's little body, and so much salt in his system as a result of poisoning that they thought their machines were faulty.

Arthur's grandad Peter Halcrow, speaking in The Sun newspaper today, has said that the evil pair must never see the light of day again – that they should never leave prison as long as they live.

And he's completely right, isn't he? It's absolutely no use talking about the death penalty - it will never be reinstated in this country. But I think the only fitting punishment within the bounds of our laws is a while life order.

Whole life orders are not given lightly in this country – around 1% of Prisoners serving life sentences have them, meaning they'll never be released from prison.

They are only given in cases where the seriousness of the offence is thought by judges to be 'exceptionally high'; where the court takes the view that the murder is so grave the offender should spend the rest of their life in prison.

The Crown Prosecution Services says that this could include a crime such as "the murder of a child if it involves sadistic motivation".

I, for once cannot think of a crime as heinous as torturing and murdering a child... My daughter is the same age as Arthur was when he died. The thought of hurting someone so little, so innocent is truly destroying and it's been difficult for me as a parent to listen to and report the details of this case.

I'm sure there are millions of us across the country who have shed tears and lost sleep thinking about what this little boy went through. Sadly, no outpouring of national love will bring others back.

But the very very least we could do is make sure the people who did this never see the light of day again. Give the monsters a whole life order.