When an eight-year-old girl died after gross neglect in London, the first reaction of Health Secretary Alan Milburn was to order an inquiry.

Yet when the case of three children who died of neglect in Brighton was revealed by The Argus last year, no inquiry was deemed necessary.

We have a question for Mr Milburn. What is the difference between the case of Anna Climbie in London and the Brighton case? The answer is none except that in the Brighton tragedy, three children lost their lives, not one.

In other respects they are strikingly the same. There was a shocking catalogue of neglect known to the authorities and especially to the social services.

Despite the clearest warning signs of gross and dangerous neglect, nothing positive was done by anyone to take the children away until it was too late.

Brighton Kemp Town Labour MP Des Turner was at one with The Argus in pushing for an inquiry into the Brighton case. Now he is calling for it to be linked in with the new inquiry because questions still remain unanswered.

Surely Mr Milburn and his colleagues at the Department of Health cannot say 'No' again.