Changes must be made to improve child protection following the murder of a three-year-old boy in a Black Country bedsit.

MP Pat McFadden said today, who said the community was shaken by the death.

The MP, whose constituency includes Slim Avenue, Bradley, where Ryan Lovell-Hancox was systematically abused, said: “The whole community is shocked and appalled by the unimaginable cruelty visited upon this little boy.

“We always hear the statement that lessons have to be learned but I think that will wear thin with the public unless there really are changes made which improve child protection. There are serious questions to be answered.

“One obvious question is whether the different agencies involved talked to one another properly and if not, whether that might have made any difference.

“The other lesson is that if anyone has concerns about the welfare of a child, report those concerns to the local authority.”

Ryan was systematically abused and assaulted for more than three weeks while being cared by the Kayley Boleyn, 19, and her 25-year-old boyfriend Christopher Taylor in December 2008.

Boleyn and Taylor were convicted of murder on Friday by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court.