'Secret state that steals our children'

Very disturbing article by Camilla Cavendish in Times2 this Tuesday about the many cases in which parents have had their children taken from them by the state, supposedly for the children's protection. She cites the case of a mother who sought protection for her daughter from her ex-husband only to herself become the object of suspicion. The result was that the girl was given into the custody of the very man from whom she had sought to protect her...

What is most worrying is the lack of due process in all this. The burden of proof seems to have been on parents to prove their innocence of the charges put against them, rather than the other way round. I know that horrific things do happen in the home and we need to be sure that children can be protected BUT we must remember that these are in the minority. The vast majority of parents strive, however imperfectly, to do the best for their children.

And, as Camilla says, 'to sever a child from its family without due cause is licensed state oppression of the worst kind. It is, in fact, child abuse'.

If you want to find out more and/or press the government for a change in the way we deal with these sensitive issues, go to www.timesonline.co.uk/familyjustice