A cross-party group of MPs has called on the UK government to issue an urgent formal apology for the state's role in forced adoptions, warning that many victims are reaching the end of their lives. The education select committee's report states that ministers should commit to an apology and work with survivor groups on its wording as quickly as possible.
Between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers in England and Wales due to a culture of shame surrounding pregnancy outside marriage. Religious organisations, charities, and local authorities were involved in running mother and baby homes and arranging adoptions.
Helen Hayes MP, chair of the education select committee, described hearing survivors' experiences as 'one of the most moving days' she had experienced in parliament. She said the government must urgently offer an unqualified apology for the state's role in shaping forced adoption practices that harmed so many.
The Welsh and Scottish governments have already apologised, as has the head of the Catholic church in England and Wales in 2016. The UK government has yet to do so, though children's minister Josh MacAlister told the committee it was 'actively considering' an apology, which would need to be delivered by a senior government member.
The committee also recommended better access to records, trauma-informed healthcare, and regular consultation with survivors. Charities such as the Salvation Army and Barnardo's were criticised for failing to fully acknowledge their roles in forced adoptions.
Sally Ells, co-founder of the Adult Adoptee Movement, said a meaningful apology was needed to correct the harmful narrative that adoptees were unwanted. She described the enduring trauma, saying 'it's not historic, it's not in the past – it's still happening now.'
