Prime Minister Keir Starmer has formally apologised on behalf of the nation to the mothers, children and others affected by forced adoption in the UK. An estimated 185,000 mothers, adoptees and families were affected by the practices, in which unmarried women were pressured by official bodies into giving up their children because they were not married.
Prime Minister's Statement in Parliament
Speaking in Parliament, Starmer described the practices as a 'stain on our history'. He said: 'Children grew up believing they were unwanted. Young mothers were told they were immoral – and that their babies were better off without them.' Addressing campaigners in the gallery above the House of Commons chamber directly, Starmer continued: 'The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours. And I say on behalf of the whole country, I say it to every single person impacted, we are deeply and profoundly sorry.'
Impact on Victims
Former Labour MP Ann Keen, who was forced to give up her baby aged 17 in 1966, told the BBC's Today programme she looked forward to 'being released from my shame' by the apology. She said: 'We all need this apology because we have always been accused of giving up our babies and we didn't give them up.'
Historical Context and Government Actions
Forced adoption took place in local authorities, in voluntary and faith-based institutions, and in health and social care services primarily between 1949 and 1976. Those organisations 'operated with power over people's lives, yet they did so without compassion, without consent, and without dignity or proper safeguards', the PM said. He spoke after meeting campaigners, including some of the mothers and adult adoptees, in Downing Street this morning. Today's formal apology was the result of years spent by them and their wider families urging action on the issue. It comes after the Scottish and Welsh governments issued their own formal apologies in March and April 2023, and after an Education Committee inquiry report recommended an urgent apology. Starmer also said the government would improve access to adoption records and set up a national online resource to help locate them, alongside a number of other measures.
