Keir Starmer To Apologise For UK's Role In Forced Adoptions That Saw 185,000 Babies Taken From Mothers

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to issue a formal apology on Thursday for the British state's role in historical forced adoptions that saw an estimated 185,000 babies taken from their mothers between 1949 and 1976. The long-awaited apology follows years of campaigning by mothers, adoptees and their families, who have argued that many young unmarried women were pressured into giving up their children against their wishes.

Campaigners will meet the Prime Minister at Downing Street before he delivers a statement in Parliament. For many of those affected, the apology marks the recognition they have sought for decades after living with the lasting effects of the practice. The move also follows parliamentary inquiries that examined the state's role in creating an environment where unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into adoption, as well as calls for greater support for families still seeking answers.

Followed By Decades Of Campaigning

Among those due to meet Sir Keir Starmer is campaigner and former Labour MP Ann Keen, who said she was looking forward to finally 'being released from my shame' when the Prime Minister apologises on behalf of the British state.

Keen said she was 17 when she was sent to a mother and baby home in Swansea in 1966 and had no choice over what happened to her son. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: 'I didn't have a say' in her son's adoption. She added: 'We all need this apology because we have always been accused of giving up our babies and we didn't give them up.'

Keen also said mothers and adoptees had 'waiting a long time' for an apology, although she believed the government had 'done the best they could, because it's so complex.' Many women affected by the practice have said they faced pressure from public sector workers, including doctors, nurses and social workers, because of the stigma attached to being young and unmarried at the time.

In March, a parliamentary inquiry by the Education Committee urged the government to issue a formal apology without delay. The report concluded that government decisions had 'shaped the environment in which unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into having their children put up for adoption.'

The committee also called for better access to adoption records and more support for those trying to contact or reunite with family members.

While it did not recommend financial compensation, it said the government should 'rigorously assess' how countries including Australia, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland had responded to historical forced adoptions.

Calls For Recognition Grow Loud

The planned apology follows earlier recommendations from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which called for a state apology in 2022.

The previous Conservative government said in 2023 that it was 'sorry on behalf of society' but argued that a formal state apology was not appropriate because it did not believe the state had actively supported the practices. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed two weeks ago that a formal apology would be made by the UK government.

She said: 'The prime minister will have more to say on this shameful period in our history, reflecting the gravity of what has happened.' Thursday's apology comes three years after the governments in Wales and Scotland formally apologised to those affected by forced adoption.

Northern Ireland is also expected to issue an apology, although that will come after the completion of a public inquiry following a 2021 report into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses.

Previous BBC reporting on forced adoptions helped lead to the parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Those directly affected have continued to speak publicly about the lasting impact.

Gaynor Weatherly, whose mother was 16 when she was born in 1963, told the BBC in 2021 that although she had found happiness through her own marriage and children, she still felt 'cheated out of a different life.'

Diana Defries, who became pregnant at the age of 16, said her baby was taken from her moments after she gave birth.

She recalled: 'I yelled to bring her back, but the nurse then just walked past me and put my daughter on a table out of my reach.'

The Joint Committee on Human Rights also found that the state had been 'aided in enacting its policies by charities and religious institutions,' including those responsible for running mother and baby homes. In June, the Church of England issued its own formal apology for its role in forced adoptions.

In a statement, Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally said those affected had experienced 'pain and trauma and suffering and fear when you should have received care and compassion.' She also told victims: 'You have nothing to be ashamed of. The shame is ours.'