An inquiry into how a man went undetected as he fathered six children by his daughter is taking too long, according to an expert. Child protection specialist Dr Michele Elliott has condemned the 18-month investigation, which has not yet reached any conclusions, as too slow.
The 52-year-old man, from Swindon, was jailed for 15 years last August for raping his daughter.
She was sexually abused over a period of more than two decades.
Three of the six children he fathered have genetic disorders and disabilities.
The case led to a review after it emerged Swindon Social Services were unaware of the incest allegations until shortly before the birth of the sixth child.
An initial investigation, which ran from April to December 2003, failed to discover how the oversight occurred.
A second inquiry by an independent consultant began in December 2003 and is still going on. Its findings and recommendations are due to be made public at the end of this month.
But Dr Elliott, director of national charity Kidscape, says this is too late.
"The point of the inquiry is to find out what went wrong and fix it," she said.
"Quite frankly, this should have have been done and dusted in eight or nine months at the most, not 18. You can write a novel in 18 months.
"In the meantime the issues about children's safety continue. Are they hoping they will go away?"
Jean Pollard, assistant director of Social Services at Swindon Borough Council, who is chairing the inquiry, said: "In any serious case review it is always difficult to predict what needs to be investigated or how long it will take."
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Quite frankly, this should have have been done and dusted in eight or nine months at the most 
