Imogen James
Live reporter

Today, Sara Sharif's father and stepmother were found guilty of the 10-year-old's murder. Her uncle was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

The harrowing case revealed the vast extent of abuse Sara suffered during her life, which ultimately led to her death.

Outside the Old Bailey in London, we heard police describe it as "one of the most difficult cases" they have dealt with, but that justice has "been served" for Sara.

Our live page is closing shortly, but we have more to read around this case:

• We have a full run-down of what happened in court today
• Sara's head teacher gives an insight into her life at school as a much-loved pupil who would "sing to anyone who would listen"
• Our Pakistan correspondent tracked down the man who hid Sara's family when they fled
• And correspondent Daniel Sandford, who has been following this story, writes about the background of the case and what went on behind closed doors

Image source, Surrey Police

Today, the jury in 10-year-old Sara Sharif's murder trial returned their verdicts, after eight weeks of disturbing and distressing evidence:

• Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were foundguilty of her murder
• Her uncle, Faisal Malik, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. He was found not guilty of murder
• They will all be sentenced on Tuesday - and it's inevitable Sharif and Batool will get life sentences, our correspondent writes
• Malik and Batool were crying in the dockas the sentences were handed down, our reporter there said. Sara's father remained silent
• Sara's mother, Olga Sharif, released a statement saying she asks "God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon"
• Questions are being raised from charities and child protection experts about how this was able to happen - with England's children's commissioner saying it shows the "profound weaknesses" in the child protection system, which the NSPCC says is struggling to cope
• There will now be an independent local safeguarding review of all professionals who had contact with the family

Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend says this case featured "common hallmarks of violence against women and girls".

"Sadly, one of the common hallmarks of violence perpetrated against women and girls is that it is carried out behind closed doors often by those closest to them," Townsend says this afternoon.

"It is clear in this case that calculated attempts were made to ensure the sustained abuse of Sara happened out of plain sight."

A newly-released video shows part of the police interview with Sara's stepmother, Beinash Batool, after she was arrested.

In the clip, Batool is asked several questions, including if she cared about Sara and what happened to her. All received the answer of no comment.

We also hear Batool reply "no comment" when asked if she loved Sara.

A separate video of Sara's uncle Faisal Malik shows him also replying "no comment," when asked who was responsible for the girl's death.

Image source, Surrey Police

Back in March 2023, five months before Sara's body was found, her teacher spotted a bruise on her chin and a "dark bruise-like mark on her right eye," the jury was told.

Sara explained the chin bruise was from falling on her roller skates.

However, when the headteacher later asked if she was fine, Sara buried her face and gave a different story, the court heard.

The school contacted Children's Single Point of Access for advice, and it was agreed that a referral to social services was necessary.

Six days after the bruises were noticed, social services decided not to take any further action on the referral.

The next month, Sara's father informed the school that she would be withdrawn to be home schooled.

Image source, PA Media

Ex-BBC correspondent and policing commentator Danny Shaw believes there are "very long prison terms to come" for Sara Sharif's father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal Malik.

As well as Sharif and Batool facing life sentences for murder, the uncle "will also be facing a possible life sentence because that is the maximum sentence for causing or allowing the death of a child", says Shaw.

Shaw also analyses the statements from Det Ch Insp Craig Emmerson and the Crown Prosecution Service's Judith Reed - pictured above - saying they both summed up "how harrowing this case has been for those involved".

"They have to speak in measured tones and without too much emotion," he adds - but "you can hear from what they said just how affected they have been".

Following the verdicts earlier, Surrey Police released some new photos of Sara at different ages:

Image source, Surrey Police

Image source, Surrey Police

Image source, Surrey Police

Image source, Surrey Police

Image source, Surrey Police

Image source, Office of the Children's Commission

Some more reaction to bring you, this time from the former children’s commissioner for England who has described Sara Sharif's death as "the most horrific case".

Anne Longfield tells the BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that concerns should have been raised when the 10-year-old was taken out of school, which meant her abuse then became "out of sight".

She stresses "these oversights should never have happened and should never happen" and added that this case underscores that "services need to come to work together" to protect children in these situations.

The current children's commissioner earlier said she wanted the rules changed, so that parents of vulnerable children would need to get the council's permission if they want to start home-schooling.

Sara Sharif was 10 years old when she died. Her teacher, Helen Simons, remembers her as a girl who loved being on stage, singing and performing.

Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, also mentioned in court that she dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer. A video from just days before her death, shown in court, captured her dancing at home.

Simons describes Sara as "essentially a happy child", "often bubbly", and notes that "at times she could be sassy".

"She could be very spirited and quite bold and fierce in what she wanted to say."

Jacquie Chambers, the head teacher, also recalls Sara as a "confident little girl who had the most beautiful smile".

The executive director for children and families at Surrey County Council says Sara's death is "incredibly distressing and we share in the profound horror at the terrible details".

Rachael Wardell says the focus so far has been on securing the convictions of those responsible for Sara's death - but the upcoming review will provide a complete picture.

"What is clear from the evidence we've heard in court is that the perpetrators went to extreme lengths to conceal the truth from everyone," she says.

"We are determined to play a full and active part in the forthcoming review alongside partner agencies, to thoroughly understand the wider circumstances surrounding Sara's tragic death."

Carrie Davies
Pakistan Correspondent

Even after the adults left Pakistan for the UK, there were still many questions about their time here.

Where did they hide? How did they manage to evade the many police units looking for them? Did they have help? And why did they decide to fly back when they did?

Over several months, the BBC team in Pakistan spoke to multiple sources to try to find a lead.

It led us to a small house in a rural part of Sialkot and to one of Urfan’s relatives, a man called Rasikh Munir.

In the course of our conversation, he told us that he had hidden the family of three adults and five children over several weeks, including in a nearby corn fields during police visits.

He claimed he was able to take them for haircuts and out for ice cream and pizza. And that when the police found the children at their grandfather’s house, the adults were hiding just next door.

Carrie Davies
Pakistan Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

For weeks, the three adults – Urfan Sharif, Sara’s father, Beinash Batool, her stepmother, Faisal Malik, her uncle, and five of Sara’s siblings - were the subject of a police hunt in Pakistan which spread across the country.

The eight left the UK on 9 August 2023, flying from Gatwick Airport and landing in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, the next day.

It wasn’t until 15 August that police in Pakistan were instructed to search for the adults, after a request from Interpol.

At the time, police were able to track the Sharif family’s movements to the city of Jhelum and nearby Domeli, but then the trail disappeared.

Getting the adults back through the courts could have been complex; Pakistan and the UK do not have an extradition treaty and previous returns have on occasion taken years.

On 11 September 2023, Pakistan police found the five children at their grandfather’s house. They were put into a government childcare facility.

The three adults were never found in the country, but eventually flew back voluntarily on 13 September. The five children remain in Pakistan and are now staying with a relative. Surrey County Council are still in a legal battle to bring them back to the UK.

Helen Westerman, from children's charity NSPCC, says they have felt the "same shock in recent years" over the deaths of other children, like Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Alfie Phillips.

This is an "all too familiar story of a child protection system struggling to cope, amid a lack of resources," she tells BBC Radio 5 Live.

A review of safeguarding in Sara's case will begin now that the trial has ended - and Westerman says it's important that review looks into "all of the detail" at what could have been done to protect her.

The acting chief executive of the NSPCC also adds that Sara's death "raises crucial questions about what more could have been done to protect her".

As we've just reported, Sara's Polish mother, Olga has issued a new tribute to her daughter.

Olga married Urfan Sharif in 2009, after moving to the UK. But a year into the marriage, Sharif was arrested for assaulting her, which he denied.

The couple separated in 2015, Olga previously said in an interview with the Polish TV channel TVN.

Afterwards, Sara, who was born in 2013, lived with Olga. However, a video recorded by Urfan Sharif showed Sara saying her mother mistreated her. This led to a court order for Sara to live with her father, although Olga still had equal rights.

Olga stated in the TVN interview that she initially saw Sara regularly, but was later told by Sara's stepmother not to visit because she didn't want to see her.

In a newly released statement from Surrey Police, Sara’s mother Olga Sharif, says she asks "God to please take care of my little girl, she was taken too soon".

She described her daughter as having "beautiful brown eyes and an angelic voice. Sara's smile could brighten up the darkest room".

"Everyone who knew Sara will know her unique character, her beautiful smile and loud laugh," the statement reads.

"She will always be in our hearts, her laughter will bring warmth to our lives. We miss Sara very much. Love you princess."

Image source, Uwaga! / TVN

The MP for Woking - where Sara Sharif lived - says he wants an "immediate" inquest.

Will Forster was a councillor in Woking at the time Sara died.

"There are questions for the authorities," he tells BBC Radio 5 Live, adding that we'll only know the "full facts" after a safeguarding review and an inquest.

Asked whether authorities in his constituency have questions to answer, Forster responds: "I think they do but I'm not someone that likes to rush to judgements."

He underlines we have only heard a "snapshot" of evidence and that we need an inquest to learn the "full truth".

Image source, Surrey Police

• June 2022: Sara's primary school notices a bruise under her left eye
• March 2023: The school notices a bruise on her chin and a dark mark on her right eye, and contacts Children’s Single Point of Access for advice, which agrees that a referral to social services is needed
• 16 March 2023: Social services decides to take no further action
• April 2023: Sara's father informs the school that she is to be withdrawn for home schooling
• 8 August 2023: Sara dies at her family home in Woking, Surrey
• 9 August 2023: Her father Urfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool, and uncle, Faisal Malik travel from Heathrow Airport to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five brothers and sisters

• 10 August 2023: Sara’s body is found at her home. She sustained "multiple and extensive injuries" before her death, a post-mortem reveals. Surrey Police began liaising with international partners
• 15 August 2023: Pakistan police say they received a request from Interpol to search for the group
• 16 August 2023: The police began searching for Sharif, Batool and Malik
• 13 September 2023: All three are arrested on suspicion of murder at Gatwick Airport on returning to the UK from Pakistan
• 15 September 2023: The three relatives are charged with Sara's murder, and further accused of causing or allowing the death of a child
• 7 October 2024: The trial of Sara’s father, stepmother and uncle begins - all three deny the charges
• 11 December 2024: Jury finds Sara's father and stepmother guilty of murder. Her uncle is found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child

Shortly after the verdicts, we heard from Det Ch Insp Craig Emmerson, who described Sara as a "bright and lively little girl who loved singing and dancing".

He said the case has "shocked and horrified" the country and the world.

Image source, PA Media

The children's commissioner for England says Sara's death highlights the "profound weaknesses in the child protection system" which "we have failed time and time again to correct".

Dame Rachel de Souza says she is haunted by the words used by Sara's father, when he said "I legally punished my child" - and calls for a change in the law so the defence that allows "reasonable chastisement" of children is removed.

She also calls for "proper oversight of children being educated at home" - including needing the council's permission to home-school vulnerable children - and better data sharing between services.

"There can be no doubt that Sara was failed in the starkest terms by the safety net of services around her," says Dame Rachel - adding that Sara was known to social services but "fell off their radar".

“We can have no more reviews, no more strategies, no more debate. When we say ‘never again’, we have to mean it - let that be Sara’s legacy.”

Police have released footage of Sara sitting on a black leather sofa, singing and playing guitar.

Sara loved to sing, her head teacher has told the BBC: "She would write songs all of the time and she would sing to anyone who would listen".

Sara’s classmates have created the Sara Singing Award in her honour.