“Nothing has changed” for families at risk of gang violence months after seven-year-old Joel Urhie’s arson death, a leading anti-gangs advisor has warned.

After it emerged Joel’s mother, Efe Urhie, warned the probation services her family was in danger days before the fatal house fire, Lewisham Council said it would review information sharing between safeguarding agencies.

The process for the review, which will look into all homicides and the most serious incidents of violence, will not start until early next month, a Lewisham Council spokesperson said.

But Gwenton Sloley, who has been lauded by the Home Office for his work tackling violent youth crime, said this was not soon enough.

He said there were families who were “screaming out for help” and called for a meeting between police and the council to ensure a “rapid response” to threats.

Families at risk included those with autistic children, like Joel, he said.

The former Lewisham Council employee trains government officers, police, NHS workers, faith groups and councils on how to counter gang violence and crime and helped set up the London Gang Exit programme.

He is also standing for election for Lewisham People Before Profit in Whitefoot.

He said: "It [the response] is too long when we have got babies dying and kids you can see are still at risk.

“Where are the learnings? We have to make the parallel with Joel Urhie.

“We have got another house with an autistic son pleading for help,” he added.

Threats to the Urhie family were discussed by police at a multi-agency meeting 10 days before the fire, a Local Democracy Reporter investigation found.

Police were aware Joel's elder brother Sam was in danger a month before the fatal fire,

Joel’s mother Efe Urhie also explicitly told the probation services her family was in danger days before the fatal fire, she told ITV.

In August two men, aged 21 and 29, were arrested in south London on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

They have been released while inquiries continue.

Speaking about the homicide review, a Lewisham Council spokesperson confirmed it would be run by the council but would have an independent chair.

He said: “The Lewisham’s Violence Reduction Approach, which is going to will be decided by Mayor and Cabinet on 7 May, and outlines a framework to taking a public health approach to reducing violence, will be the trigger to start a tendering process to appoint the reviewer.

“The review will aim to identify key themes and seek to learn and provide an environment for continued improvement and learning.”

A review into Joel’s death, a statutory requirement for all child deaths, will start once police finish their investigation.