The father of a British-Pakistani girl jailed for 40 years for her murder should have been given a whole life sentence from which he would never be released, a top government lawyer argued in a court appeal hearing Thursday.

Urfan Sharif was jailed in December for murdering 10-year-old Sara Sharif following years of torture.

Sharif, Sara's stepmother Beinash Batool and the child's uncle, Faisal Malik, are all appealing their sentences at the Court of Appeal in London.

Lawyers for the Solicitor General's office are at the same time seeking a stiffer, indefinite, sentence for Sharif.

The murder trial last year caused waves of revulsion in the UK as the horrific abuse suffered by Sara was revealed.

There was anger too at how the bright, bubbly youngster had been failed by the authorities supposed to be in charge of her care.

Her body was found in bed at the family home in August 2023 covered in bites and bruises with broken bones and burns inflicted by an electric iron and boiling water.

Lawyer........

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