[Busman747]

Sorry Margaret, I read about this in the mornings paper and remembered it from Mays report, I have been seething all day at work and when I finally came home just had to give vent to my anger in "word." to put on the accy web. I am glad that you also feel as I do and judging by comments, other accy web members also.

As I have just spent a couple of hours one-finger typing my comments (without checking the accy web first) please forgive me for putting my contribution on as it stands as it is too late to make amendments.........

In May, there was a report in a national paper about a couple who loved each other, set up home together for 10 years and ultimately had two children- - - - and the follow-up story was in todays newspaper after they received the results of a court case held behind closed doors!



What had they done wrong? NOTHING according to the Judge

And their punishment? To have both their children aged 4 and 14 months put up for adoption! They were told that the ONLY contact they should have with their children is to be 2 photos per year until the children reach the age of 18.



OK, In case you missed this story I will explain how it all came about:



Mum is 29 years old and is classed as “special needs.” Although she is slow, she can read and write and loves her family very much. She was told that her children must go to a “forever mummy and daddy” because the S.S. (Social Services, but S.S, is more suitable) said that she was not clever enough to be a good parent and lacked intelligence to understand the childrens needs.



Quote from Mum:

“They kept saying I have no relationship with my little girl but it isn’t true. She loves playing in the bath with me. She loves her baby brother and wants to help me change his nappies.

They said I didn’t play with her when they were observing us but I was feeding the baby at the time”



Dad is 37 and does NOT have a learning disability. He has worked for the same manufacturing company for 22 years but was criticised for not giving up his job to help care for the children and was said to have anger management issues because he became irritable with a team of social workers who appeared determined to take away his children.



The S.S, admit that neither of the children have had an accident in the home or has come to any harm but told the judge that they were at “future risk.”



The S.S. reportedly “crammed” themselves into the flat to watch the family and criticised the parents for not putting out enough toys and for not keeping strict enough daily routines. They highlighted the fact that Mum took too long to brush her teeth and to change the babies nappy while the Dad was criticised for giving his daughter crisps before she had a sandwich.



In April 2004, some Social workers spoke up for them claiming the Mum lost confidence when she was under constant scrutiny and voted to remove the childrens names from the councils “at risk” register but the decision was reversed by a hastily convened child protection meeting and Care proceedings were started by the council to remove the children. In November last year, the couple were banned from seeing the children after Mum, driven to despair snapped and pulled a social workers hair during an access meeting. (I would probably have ripped her F***ing head off personally)



Because of the secrecy that pervades the care system they had no one to turn to for help. They were told that if they spoke to anyone they would risk being jailed for contempt of court which would mean that they would lose their children so they could not even get solicitors advice! The end result was that the courts ruled they should lose their children anyway.



They finally turned to Lib-DemCounty Councillor Barry Aspinall for help and he was immediately served with an injunction by the local authority to silence him but he fought successfully through the courts for the right to discuss the case and allow some scrutiny of the authorities actions. A fresh legal challenge was mounted by the family to overturn the decision but last week, a judge ruled that the children must be put up for immediate adoption.



The judge Mrs. Justice Pauffley said amonst other rantings that “they are selfish in their desire to keep their children” and finished with “A reasonable parent would recognise that his/her childs welfare was the decisive factor in the equation and would put to one side self-interest and desire. The advantages of adoption for these children are overwhelmingly strong. I have no doubts but that the right thing to do is override the parents objections.”



The decision is made and after adoption, there can be no going back, this couple have lost perhaps even their reason for being. I have spent many hours week in week out talking to people like this couple in my job and my heart goes out for them. I feel sickened by the callous heartless bas***** that promote themselves as the new messiah in the name of being politically correct and acute embarrassment for being part of the western world that is destined for the dark ages-----------------



As a footnote, Professor Tim Booth done research that showed that 20% of all local authority care proceedings in this country involve parents with a learning disability!!