Starmer apologizes for Britain's forced adoption scandal affecting 185,000 children

Keir Starmer apologized in the House of Commons for Britain’s forced adoption scandal after meeting affected mothers and adult adoptees at Downing Street. He called the abuse a “stain on our history” and said the state had failed women and children caught in decades of pressure, secrecy and coercion.

Starmer told MPs the practices were “not isolated or accidental acts” but were embedded across local authorities, voluntary and faith-based institutions, and parts of what is now the NHS. Many mothers were “coerced, bullied or misled” into believing they had no choice. Some women were cut off from family, relationships, education and employment in Mother and Baby Homes and other institutional settings, while some children grew up believing they were unwanted.

The House of Commons Education Committee estimated in its 27 March report that around 185,000 children were adopted between 1949 and 1976. The practices were particularly prevalent between 1949 and 1976, though they extended beyond those years. Progress on earlier recommendations, including an apology, had been slow and inconsistent. The Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry, launched in September 2021 and published in July 2022, gathered 142 written submissions, more than 260 survey responses, three oral evidence sessions and a roundtable with more than 40 participants.

The government said the Department for Education will establish support groups for mothers and adopted adults, but campaigners have also pressed for wider access to adoption records, medical information, complaint mechanisms and support for those still searching for answers. Among those who met Starmer was Ann Lloyd Keen, who had her son forcibly adopted in 1966 when she was 18. Diana Defries had her daughter forcibly adopted when she was 16, while Sally Ells and Debbie Iromlou were forcibly adopted in 1967 and 1968.

The Church of England apologized on 18 June for its role in historical adoption practices, especially in mother and baby homes. Archbishop Sarah Mullally said the Church was “profoundly sorry” for the pain, trauma and stigma experienced by affected people. The Church’s research put tens of thousands of mothers and babies in about 200 affiliated homes between 1949 and 1976, and said some women and girls were made to do menial work as a form of correction.