POLICE are under fire for failing to attend meetings called to protect Bradford children feared to be at risk of abuse.

The West Yorkshire force was criticised after it was revealed that officers failed to show up at a staggering 63 of 66 ‘child protection conferences’.

The Labour party warned such non-attendance raised fears that the police “may not know the child has a history of concern over abuse”, when they are called out to a protection case.

And Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, pointed to a growing problem in much of the country, saying: “The police are attending fewer of the conferences – over 20 per cent fewer than before.”

Now the West Yorkshire force has told the Telegraph & Argus it is “reviewing case conference attendance with children’s social care colleagues”.

The criticism was first made in January, when HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) criticised the force’s handling of “more difficult” child protection cases.

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That report accused West Yorkshire of a “mixed, and often confused, explanation” for its poor attendance record, which fell back on “outdated guidance”.

And it stated: “Inspectors had significant concerns about how little the police were involved in longer-term plans for children who were most at risk.

“Although written reports (of varying quality) were often submitted, this is no substitute for the presence of police officers at discussions about those children in West Yorkshire who are most at risk and in need of help and protection.”

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Now Labour has seized on HMIC figures showing that, over a three-month period last year, police attended just eight of 160 conferences in Leeds, 13 of 45 in Kirklees – and only three of 66 in Bradford.

Miss Cooper’s criticism was echoed by Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, who said: “Police must attend appropriate conferences, to ensure there’s communication between agencies.”

Kris Hopkins, the Conservative MP for Keighley, said: “The prime minister has made clear that professionals who fail to protect children will be held properly accountable, and this includes police officers.

“We must all pull together to tackle the vile perpetrators of abuse. Lessons of past failures need to be learnt.”

And Councillor Ralph Berry, Bradford Council’s executive for children’s services, blamed the problems on police funding cuts, but added: “I know there are pressures, but you would expect police to be in attendance.”

In response, Superintendent Vince Firth, of Bradford District Police, argued the force had “set clear priorities for safeguarding children” – something acknowledged by HMIC.

But he pointed out there were 277 case conferences across West Yorkshire in December alone, adding: “We need to ensure that we make maximum use of specialist child protection resources.

“As a bare minimum, we provide each case conference with a comprehensive written report should officers be unable to attend in person.

“We are currently reviewing case conference attendance with children’s social care colleagues, to negotiate an agreement in relation to those that West Yorkshire Police should attend.”