The death of tortured toddler Ainlee Walker should prompt a shake-up in the way health and social services workers co-operate, the chairman of an influential Commons committee has said.

Labour MP David Hinchliffe, chairman of the health select committee and a former child protection worker, said the government should return to the system where the two organisations worked more closely together.

Ainlee suffered months of abuse at the hands of her parents Leanne Labonte and Dennis Henry and died in January despite being known to Newham social services.

Leanne Labonte was sentenced to 10 years' youth detention

Labonte, 20, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday to 10 years' youth detention, while Henry, 39, was jailed for 12 years, for killing the toddler.

They had blamed each other for the 64 injuries found on the child's body, including cigarette burns, bruises and scratches.

The court heard Ainlee had been subjected to a systematic campaign of cruelty which had left her looking like a famine victim and too weak to eat.

Mr Hinchliffe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I hope that, arising from this case, we will look radically at whether the structures we place our workers in are sensible.

'Failure'

"One of the issues we pick up time and again is the failure of people to pick up on information one agency has and another doesn't."

He said that where health and social services worked in the same system it was far more effective in ensuring people shared information.

"I do not understand why we do not move to the system we had before, basing health and social workers in the same environment."

Dennis Henry starved and tortured Ainlee

Head of Newham social services, Kathryn Hudson, told the programme: "I'd like to say how very sorry we are about Ainlee's death and I think we have to take some responsibility for things we might have done better.

"We have an independent investigation going on to try to sort out who did know what at what stage.

"I think we may find no one agency was in possession of all the information.

"We are not passing the buck. We have already accepted responsibility for our part in this."