The campaign by The Argus to bring child killers to justice took a major step forward today.

The Law Commission is recommending a new law that would help close a legal loophole and send cruel carers and guardians to jail for up to 14 years.

Under existing laws, murder prosecutions fail when it cannot be proved which parent is to blame for a child's death.

Following a review, the Law Commission today said it was recommending a new offence of aggravated child cruelty.

The law would allow more than one parent, guardian or carer to be charged in such cases.

Although not a murder or manslaughter charge, a conviction for aggravated child cruelty could carry a maximum 14-year sentence.

To secure a conviction it would have to be proved the child's death was a result of neglect or cruelty and that the child was in the care of the defendant.

Currently, less than half of cases where a parent or carer is suspected of killing a child result in a charge. Even fewer convictions are secured.

The Argus launched its campaign for a change in the law in 2000 following the collapse of a trial involving a Brighton couple accused of killing three babies.

Experts testified the children had probably been smothered but the case was thrown out because of the legal loophole.

The following year another murder charge failed to reach court for the same reason.

Four-year-old John Smith, from Southwick, had 54 bruises and three adult bite marks on his body.

His foster parents, Simon and Michelle McWilliam, were jailed for cruelty, each receiving eight year sentences.

The Argus campaign included meetings with two home secretaries and an open letter personally delivered to David Blunkett.

Last year, a working group was established by the NSPCC to investigate the loophole and the Law Commission appointed an observer.

Under Judge Isobel Plumstead, the group examined research by 40 police forces. It revealed that from 1998 to 2000, criminal investigations were concluded into deaths or serious injuries inflicted on 366 children under 10.

Only 141 reached court and, of those, 99 led to a conviction, meaning 62 per cent, did not lead to a charge at all. The conviction rate for adult murders is around 90 per cent.