Keir Starmer today issued a formal apology to survivors of the forced adoption scandal, as he told them: ‘The shame is not yours, the shame was never yours, the shame is ours.’
The Prime Minister used a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday morning to say sorry on behalf of the nation.
He acknowledged the harm caused when an estimated 185,000 babies of unmarried mothers were adopted in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976, as a result of a culture of shame surrounding pregnancy outside marriage at the time.
‘It should never have happened and you should have not have had to fight so hard for this day to come,’ Sir Keir told survivors, including those who were watching in the Commons gallery.
‘But today, finally, I do say on behalf of the state and of behalf of the nation as a whole: We see you, we hear you and we are truly sorry.’
Sir Keir, who earlier met some of those mothers and adoptees impacted by the scandal in Downing Street, described the events as a ‘a stain on our history’.
The PM – who is due to hand over power to Andy Burnham as soon as 20 July – said he ‘found it hard to read the testimonies’ of those impacted, particularly as a father.
‘Mothers, many young, vulnerable, and without support were coerced, bullied, or misled into feeling that they had no choice but to have their children taken away from them. What a thing to do,’ he added.
But while Sir Keir set out new support services, he did not set out a financial redress scheme for mothers and their children – as Ireland and Australia did after their own formal apologies for the coerced removal of children from unmarried mothers.
Keir Starmer issued a formal apology to survivors of the forced adoption scandal, as he told them: ‘The shame is not yours, the shame was never yours, the shame is ours.’
The PM, who earlier met some of those mothers and adoptees impacted by the scandal in Downing Street , described the events as a ‘a stain on our history’.
Sir Keir said the forced adoption of babies was not ‘isolated or accidental acts’ but were ‘practices embedded within systems across local authorities, across voluntary and faith-based institutions, and in health and social care services, including parts of what is now the NHS’.
‘All institutions that operated with power over people’s lives, yet they did so without compassion, without consent, and without dignity or proper safeguards,’ he added.
The PM said the harms caused by historical forced adoption were ‘compounded by the actions and failures of the state’.
‘Governments funded, enabled and relied on systems that were not consistently or effectively overseen,’ he continued.
‘The state did not prevent harm from continuing. The state bears responsibility for the systems it funded and legitimised, which enabled these practices to occur.
‘The state did not do enough to protect mothers, children, and families from harm, and for this systemic failure, I am truly sorry.’
Sir Keir said many of those affected by forced adoptions ‘suffered a further injustice’ in that they had to ‘fight for the basic human right to know their own story’.
He described how records were ‘lost, altered, or not made fully accessible to those seeking answers, and the whole process is painfully slow, traumatic, and dehumanising all over again’.
The PM promised a national online resource to create a single access point to locate records wherever they may be held across the country.
He also outlined how Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, is writing to to local authorities, regional adoption agencies, and voluntary adoption agencies to set out the expectation that requests for records should be responded to swiftly and with compassion and consistency.
‘We will establish national virtual peer-led support groups for mothers and adopted adults to improve access to ongoing trauma-informed support across the country, and we will work with NHS England to ensure those affected are taken seriously when they seek help,’ Sir Keir added.
‘This includes new support for clinicians to better understand the impact of forced adoption and respond appropriately in their care. NHS England will also explore how those who wish to do so can have their experience of forced adoption appropriately recorded in their health record.
‘And finally, to further recognise those affected and ensure we learn the lessons of the past, we will commission a testimonials project to capture the stories of those with experience of historic forced adoption practices.’
Diana Defries, who was among those to meet the PM in No10, said the apology was tinged with sadness as some who ‘worked tirelessly’ in their calls for one will not be around to hear it
Ann Keen, a former Labour health minister, was sent to a Swansea mother and baby home in 1966, when she was 17
Campaigners posed for a photograph after their meeting with Sir Keir in No10 to discuss historical forced adoption
Labour MP Tracy Gilbert held back tears in the Commons, as she spoke of her own experience of being adopted.
The MP for Edinburgh North and Leith said: ‘As an adopted person born in 1972 I welcome today’s statement from the PM.
‘I have no idea if my birth mother felt forced to have me adopted. I do know that prior to the birth she was in a Church of Scotland mother and baby home.
‘My adopted parents have since died, but I am sure they would not want to have adopted any child who had been forcibly removed from their mother.’
The Westminster apology comes three years after devolved administrations in Cardiff and Holyrood said sorry to people impacted across Wales and Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, an apology is also expected but not until after a public inquiry has been carried out, following a recommendation from a 2021 report on mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses.
The UK Parliament’s 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 that railroaded mothers into unwanted adoptions’.
Mothers forced to give up their babies have previously described the harrowing experiences of having them taken away and the lingering feelings of shame, while adults who were removed as children from their mothers have spoken of a ‘harmful narrative’ which long persisted that adoption had saved them.
Despite the JCHR report recommending ministers apologise, the then-Conservative government in 2023 said while it was sorry ‘on behalf of society’ for the way the women had been treated, it did not think a formal apology appropriate ‘since the state did not actively support these practices’.
Two weeks ago, the Church of England apologised for its role in forced adoptions, telling survivors the ‘shame is ours’.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally said the impact on families had been ‘lifelong’ for many and noted survivors having spoken of the ‘indignity’ they faced.
She apologised for the ‘pain, trauma and stigma’ caused to those affected, adding that there was a deep shame that the practice had happened to people ‘in the care of Christian communities’.
Thursday’s state apology comes almost exactly two years after a key campaigner, whose daughter was taken from her as a baby in the 1960s, died.
Veronica Smith, who died on June 29 2024, co-founded the Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA), in 2010 to seek justice for all those who had suffered.
Current MAA chairwoman Diana Defries, who was among those to meet the PM in Downing Street, said the state apology would be tinged with sadness as some mothers who ‘worked tirelessly’ in their calls for one will not be around to hear it.
Ms Defries – who had not long turned 17 when her own baby daughter was forcibly adopted in the 1970s – said it is ‘so sad’ Ms Smith did not live to see the Westminster Government finally issue an apology.
She added that some other long-time campaigners are now too frail to be part of the day.
Ms Defries said: ‘Campaigners have been working for decades, long before me.
‘And the worst part is that I stepped into a dead woman’s shoes to keep it going and it’s a tragedy for me personally and obviously for her family that she’s not here.
‘It’s hugely poignant. It’s great that they (the Government) are actually doing something and that they’re acknowledging this injustice but it’s so sad that these people who worked tirelessly for a very long time won’t be part of it.’
Meanwhile, a former Labour health minister and forced adoption survivor has said she is looking forward to ‘being released from my shame’ when she and other campaigners get a state apology.
Ann Keen was sent to a Swansea mother and baby home in 1966, when she was 17.
Asked if she would accept the Government apology, Ms Keen told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Oh, absolutely, we all need this apology because we have always been accused of giving up our babies and we didn’t give them up.
‘In particular, so many were taken without our knowledge and in my own instance, I went to see my baby on the eighth day because I was told I could have him for 10 and they said: ‘Oh no, he’s gone now. You were getting far too close’.’
Ms Keen, who was the MP for Brentford and Isleworth for 13 years, said she thinks the Government has ‘done the best they could, because it’s so complex’.
‘I understand why the Prime Minister’s team wanted to get this right, because we’ve now got the opportunity to really put this wrong right, we’ve been waiting a long time, and so today I’m just looking forward to today and being released from my shame,’ she added.
Campaigners from the Adult Adoptee Movement (AAM) said: ‘This apology is for the adoptees who were taken at their most vulnerable and sent to strangers.
‘For those who lost their wider family, medical history, culture, language or nationality. For those who suffered abuse, neglect or racism in their adoptive homes; who grew up hearing they were from ‘bad blood’, should be ‘grateful’, or had been ‘saved’.
‘For those subjected to the brutal, systemic racism of the adoption system who were judged ‘less than’ because of race.
‘For those who, due to disability or medical conditions, were judged less worthy of love and care. For those who were deceived about their origins.
‘For those who live with the long-term physical and mental health consequences of adoption. For those who have died.
‘It marks a fundamental correction of the narrative on historic adoption practices. What happened to you was wrong.’
The AAM added: ‘The measure of this apology will not be the words spoken today, but the actions taken tomorrow.’
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