Starmer calls forced adoption scandal a ‘stain on our history’ as he apologises to survivors

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer formally apologized on behalf of the state in parliament for historic forced adoptions, telling women whose babies were taken from them: “The shame was never yours, the shame is ours.”

He called the practice, which became widespread in the decades after World War II, “a stain on our history.”

The women whose babies were taken away were watched in the Parliament, and some of them wiped their tears as they apologized.

No exact figures are available, but between 1949 and 1976 an estimated 185,000 babies of single mothers were adopted in England and Wales.

For decades, mothers have campaigned for justice by describing the harrowing experience and lasting feelings of shame of having their children removed, while adoptees have long spoken of a “harmful narrative” that suggests adoption saved them as children.

While administrations in Cardiff and Holyrood issued formal apologies in 2023, Westminster’s apology came only on Thursday.

Sir Keir previously told campaigners in Downing Street that they had suffered a “double injustice” because of the long wait for state recognition.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) called for a state apology in 2022, saying: “The government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees who push mothers into unwanted adoption.”

Mothers who had to give up their babies previously described harrowing experiences of having their babies taken away from them and their lingering feelings of shame, while adults who were separated from their mothers as children spoke of a “harmful narrative” that long perpetuated adoption as saving them.

Last month it was confirmed by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson that a long-running apology campaign was looming for what she called “a shameful period in our history”.

An apology is also expected in Northern Ireland, but not until a public inquiry is held following a recommendation in a 2021 report into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses.

Despite the JCHR report recommending ministers apologize, in 2023 the then Conservative government stated that it was sorry “on behalf of society” for the treatment of women but did not consider a formal apology to be appropriate “due to the state’s failure to actively support these practices”.

Two weeks ago the Church of England apologized for its role in forced adoptions and told survivors “the shame is ours”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, said the impact on families was “lifelong” for many and noted survivors had spoken of the “insult” they had faced.

He apologized for the “pain, trauma and stigma” experienced by those affected, adding that he was deeply ashamed that the practice was happening to people “in the care of Christian communities”.

Campaigners have previously called for a government apology, which includes an acknowledgment of wrongdoing, an acceptance of responsibility, an expression of remorse or contrition and an assurance that harm will not be repeated.

At a committee hearing earlier this year, campaigners told MPs that, as well as apologies, more support was needed for mothers and adoptees, including fast-tracking them for trauma-informed counseling as well as providing better access to their records.

The apology comes almost two years after the death of a prominent campaigner whose daughter was taken from her as a baby in the 1960s.

Veronica Smith, who died June 29, 2024, founded the Adoption Apology Movement (MAA) in 2010 to seek justice for all who suffer.

Diana Defries, the current president of the MAA, said the state apology would be fraught with sadness because some mothers who “worked tirelessly” in their appeals would not be able to hear it.

Ms Defries, whose own young daughter was not yet 17 when she was forcibly adopted in the 1970s, said it was “very sad” that Ms Smith did not live to see the Westminster Government finally issue an apology.

He added that some other long-time campaigners were now too weak to be part of the day.

Ms Defries told the Press Association this week: “The campaigners have been working for decades, long before me. “And the worst part is that I have to step into the shoes of a dead woman to keep this going and it’s a tragedy for me personally and of course for her family that she’s not here.

“This is extremely touching.

“It’s great that they (the Government) are actually doing something and acknowledging this injustice, but it’s very sad that these people who have worked tirelessly for so long will not be a part of it.”