The British state will formally apologize for its role in historical forced adoptions in England and Wales, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced Thursday.
An estimated 185,000 babies were taken from their mothers between the 1950s and 1970s, with thousands of unmarried women pressured into relinquishing their children. The apology follows years of campaigning by affected mothers, adoptees, and their families. Campaigners are scheduled to meet with the prime minister in Downing Street ahead of his statement to the House of Commons.
A parliamentary inquiry in March recommended that the government issue an urgent apology for its involvement in the practice. The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) report concluded that government decisions contributed to an environment where unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into giving up their children for adoption. The report also called for improved access to adoption records and greater support for individuals seeking to reconnect with their families. While it did not recommend financial redress, the committee urged the government to thoroughly assess how other countries, including Australia, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, have addressed historical forced adoptions.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had confirmed two weeks prior that a formal apology was forthcoming. "The prime minister will have more to say on this shameful period in our history, reflecting the gravity of what has happened," she stated at the time.
This apology comes three years after the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland issued their own apologies to victims of forced adoption in their respective nations. An apology is also anticipated in Northern Ireland, pending the conclusion of a public inquiry related to a 2021 report on mother and baby institutions, Magdalene laundries, and workhouses.
Previous BBC reporting on forced adoption was instrumental in initiating the parliamentary inquiry. In 2021, Gaynor Weatherly, whose mother was 16 when she was born in 1963, shared with the BBC that while she found happiness in her own life, she felt "cheated out of a different life." Diana Defries recounted to the BBC in 2021 how her baby was taken moments after birth, stating, "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."