Starmer to publicly apologize to victims of forced adoption

Sir Keir Starmer will make a formal apology on behalf of the British Empire for its role in historic forced adoptions in England and Wales.

In the year In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, an estimated 185,000 children were taken from their mothers, and thousands of women were given away because they were not married.

The pardon comes after years of campaigning from mothers, guardians and their extended families. Campaigners will meet the Prime Minister in Downing Street later on Thursday ahead of his statement to the House of Commons.

In March, a parliamentary inquiry recommended that the government urgently apologize for its role in the incident.

An investigative report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) said the government’s decisions had “created an environment in which unwed mothers are often humiliated and forced to give up their children for adoption”.

He also called for improved access to adoption records, as well as more support for those seeking to meet or be reunited with their families.

It has stopped offering financial aid to victims, but has called on the government to “rigorously review” how other countries, including Australia, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, have responded to historic forced adoptions.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed a formal apology from the UK government two weeks ago.

“The Prime Minister will have a lot to say about this shameful period in our history, which reflects the gravity of what happened,” she said at the time.

The pardon comes three years later. Governments in Cardiff and Holyrood also issued amnesties to victims of forced adoption in Wales and Scotland.

An amnesty is also expected in Northern Ireland, but not until a public inquiry is completed, following a report in 2021 on mother and baby institutions, Magdalen laundries and workhouses.

Previous BBC report on compulsory adoption It led to a parliamentary inquiry.

In 1963, her mother, 16-year-old Gaynor Weatherley, told the BBC in 2021 that despite finding happiness in her own marriage and children, she was “cheated out of another life.”

When she was pregnant, 16-year-old Diana Defrees took her son away from her moments after giving birth.

In the year Speaking to the BBC in 2021, she said: “I screamed to get her back, but the nurse then walked past me and put my baby on the table out of my reach.”