Survivors of forced adoption will receive a full apology on behalf of the state, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced. An estimated 185,000 children were taken from unmarried mothers and adopted between 1949 and 1976 in England and Wales.
A Long-Awaited Apology
Administrations in Cardiff and Holyrood have previously apologised to those affected, but campaigners have long called for an apology from the Westminster Government. Ms Phillipson described the historical practice as a shameful period in the country's history.
Speaking to the Education Committee on Wednesday, she said: I know that you and the committee will want to hear that this Government will very soon be making a full apology on behalf of the state to all of those affected by historic forced adoption in England. The Prime Minister will have more to say on this shameful period in our history, reflecting the gravity of what has happened. But here and now, let me say to all of those affected, you will get the apology that you so profoundly deserve.
Previous Calls for Action
The committee had previously called for a formal, unqualified apology from the government to survivors of forced adoption, as a step towards giving them peace. In 2022, a report by the UK Government's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) recommended that ministers apologise to unmarried women who were railroaded into unwanted adoptions.
In 2023, the then-Conservative government responded to the report by expressing sorrow on behalf of society for how the women were treated, but deemed a formal apology inappropriate since the state did not actively support these practices. The JCHR described the lack of apology as disappointing at the time.
