Starmer to formally apologise to victims of forced adoptions
Sir Keir Starmer will make a formal apology on behalf of the British state for its role in historic forced adoptions in England and Wales.
An estimated 185,000 babies were taken from their mothers in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s; Thousands of women were pressured to give up their children because they were unmarried.
The apology comes after years of campaigning by mothers, adoptees and their families. Campaigners will meet the prime minister in Downing Street ahead of his statement to the House of Commons on Thursday.
A parliamentary inquiry in March recommended that the government immediately apologize for the state’s role in the practice.
The investigative report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) found that government decisions “shape the environment in which unmarried mothers are often shamed and forced to give their children up for adoption.”
It called for improved access to adoption records, as well as more support for people wanting to contact or reunite with their families.
He stopped short of offering financial compensation to victims but called on the government to “rigorously consider” how other countries, including Australia, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, have responded to historic forced adoptions.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed two weeks ago that a formal apology from the UK government was on the way.
He said at the time: “The Prime Minister will have more to say about this shameful period in our history in a way that reflects the seriousness of what is happening.”
Apology will come after three years The devolved governments in Cardiff and Holyrood have apologized to victims of forced adoptions in Wales and Scotland.
An apology is also expected in Northern Ireland, but this will be made after the completion of a public inquiry following a 2021 report into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses.
A previous BBC report on forced adoption led to a parliamentary inquiry.
Gaynor Weatherly, who was 16 when her mother was born in 1963, told the BBC in 2021 that she had found happiness through her own marriage and children, but felt “cheated from a different life”.
Diana Defries, who was 16 when she got pregnant, had her baby aborted in the moments after giving birth.
Also speaking to the BBC in 2021, the woman said: “I shouted to bring her back, but the nurse walked past me and put my daughter on a table out of my reach.”
