Mother accused of starving daughter to death 'banned school from feeding other child snacks when he was hungry'

A mother accused of starving her seven-year-old daughter to death refused to take another child in her care to a dietician despite medical advice to do so, a court heard today.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told that Angela Gordon banned staff at the child's school from feeding him snacks when he was hungry.
Gordon is charged alongside her partner Junaid Abuhamza - with the murder of Khyra Ishaq, who died from malnutrition.
Dr Suraj Ahmed said teachers grew concerned about the young boy after he stole food from the plates of his classmates.
The child, who cannot be named, was seven years old when Dr Ahmed examined him in January last year.
The doctor, an assistant specialist in community paediatrics, said: 'The school was a little bit concerned because he always appeared to be hungry.'
'He was searching cupboards looking for food as soon as he got into school.
'At lunchtime he would grab food from the other children's plates and eat it and that was a cause for concern for the school staff.'
Weighing 22kg, the boy was below the average weight for his age.
Dr Ahmed said: 'I pointed this out to (Gordon) and said that he appeared not to be getting enough calories. I suggested that he might benefit from seeing a dietician but she was not keen on that. She was against it.
'She felt he was getting an adequate amount of calories at home and she didn't want the school to give him any snacks without her permission.'
Another medic who treated the boy at Birmingham's City Hospital after Khyra's death on May 17 last year said he had appeared 'obsessed' with food.
Dr Simil Bhimsaria said: 'He would approach anyone and ask for food all the time. He appeared quite obsessed with food throughout the time of his stay in hospital.'
Today a pathologist who attended a second post-mortem examination on Khyra's body on June 4 last year spoke of his shock at seeing her emaciated body.
Dr Roger Malcolmson told jurors that he had never seen such a high level of fat loss as that suffered by Khyra before her death.
Dr Malcolmson said he believed Khyra died from a bacterial infection but that the 'ultimate cause' of her death was malnutrition.
He told the jury: 'Taking everything into consideration, she was severely malnourished.
'I have never seen a similar case before. I believe in this case that the infection that caused Khyra's death was inevitably caused by her malnutrition.'
Dr Malcolmson added that there was no other 'credible or conceivable' natural cause of death.
Gordon, 34, and 30-year-old Abuhamza, both of Leyton Road, Handsworth, deny murder.
Abuhamza has pleaded guilty to cruelty charges relating to five children in his care and control.
Gordon denies the charges of child cruelty, which are alleged to have been committed between December 2007 and May 17 2008.

What is it with muslims starving their kids?