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Politics / Government apologises for historic forced adoption practices

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on July 18, 2026, 04:30:50 PM »

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-apologises-for-historic-forced-adoption-practices

Press release
Government apologises for historic forced adoption practices

Apology comes with £4 million package of support which includes easier access to adoption records

From:  Department for Education and The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP
Published: 2 July 2026
   
People affected by the injustice of forced adoption have today received the formal apology they deserve, as the government acknowledged the role of the state in the appalling practice and unveiled a package of practical support worth £4 million over three years.

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, delivered the apology in Parliament as campaigners watched on, ahead of a reception for them in Westminster.

In a speech, the Prime Minister reflected on the harm caused to an estimated 185,000 mothers, adopted people and their wider families by practices that took place primarily between 1949 and 1976.

The apology recognises that many women were denied genuine choice, made to feel ashamed or unworthy, and that children were taken from their birth families, their identity and their history. Fathers and wider families were also affected, with harm lasting across lifetimes and, in some cases, generations.

The £4 million support fund will go towards helping people access their adoption records via the Coram BAAF charity, fund intermediary services like Family Connect that helps people reconnect with family members, and research and testimonial projects to document the long-term impact on people’s lives.

Speaking directly to campaigners watching from the House gallery, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said:

    The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours.

    And I say that on behalf of the whole country, I say it to every single person impacted, we are deeply and profoundly sorry.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

    The pain carried by mothers, adopted children and their families who suffered this appalling injustice is unimaginable. They were cruelly denied irreplaceable moments, shared experiences and relationships which should have been theirs, and were made to feel ashamed.

    Today, on behalf of the British state, we say with one voice: this was wrong, and we are sorry. An apology cannot undo what happened, but it can be the start of real change, alongside providing the practical action, care and support that people need.

Governments funded, enabled and relied on systems that were not consistently or effectively overseen. In some cases, records were lost, altered, or not made fully accessible to those seeking answers. The state did not do enough to protect mothers, children and families and it failed to prevent harm from continuing. It bears responsibility for the systems it funded and legitimised, which enabled these practices to take place.

The Government recognises that an apology alone is not enough. Alongside today’s statement, ministers are setting out practical steps to improve support for those affected, including:

    improving access to adoption records;
    expanding services which support family reconnection;
    working with NHS England to improve access to appropriate health support, including with mental health challenges;
    developing peer support;
    strengthening awareness across public services;
    establishing a lived experience reference group to review progress; and
    commissioning a testimonials project to capture the stories of those with experience of historical forced adoption.

To ensure that lessons are learned and continue to make improvements, the government will also work to gather data on how the support announced today is working over time, keeping the need for further research under review.

This package reflects what those affected have said matters most: being able to understand their past, access records, reconnect with family where possible and receive support that recognises what they have lived through.

The apology relates to historical adoption practices in England. Scotland and Wales have each issued their own formal apologies, which the UK Government supports, while in Northern Ireland work is underway to establish a statutory public inquiry into Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses, led by the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Government recognises that some people’s experiences extend beyond the 1949 to 1976 period, and that it is deeply upsetting to hear examples where coercive practices continued. Today’s adoption system is fundamentally different, with strong legal safeguards, clear consent requirements and independent judicial oversight.

Information and support for those affected

If you have been affected by historical forced adoption practices, support is available:

    FamilyConnect offers confidential support, including counselling, record tracing and help with reunification where appropriate, and can be reached on 0300 1800 205 or https://www.familyconnect.org.uk
    For urgent support Samaritans is available 24/7 and free from any phone: 116 123.
    You can also speak to your GP, who can help you access further support.

If you are based outside England, you can still access confidential listening services such as Samaritans

ENDS

DfE media enquiries

Central newsdesk - for journalists 0203 371 4832

2

Articles / My little sister was murdered before I could ever meet her

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on June 29, 2026, 05:28:48 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-15923307/little-sister-murdered-meet-Vickie-adopted.html

My little sister was murdered before I could ever meet her

Seven-year-old Stacey's killer was never caught. Now, 30 years on, her sister Vickie has finally got the case reopened

By Kathryn Knight

As she walked to school on a bone-chilling January morning in 1993, the then 13-year-old Vickie Robertson saw something that stopped her in her tracks.  Pasted on to lampposts at her local bus station in Bracknell, Berkshire, were posters featuring the smiling face of a young blonde girl.  Her name was Stacey Queripel. She was seven years old and had been found dead in nearby woodland.  ‘Do you have any information?’ the poster asked.

Vickie recalls now: ‘Even though we had never met, I knew immediately who she was.’

For Stacey was not a stranger, but Vickie’s younger sister.  Removed from her dysfunctional family home at the age of just three, Vickie had been adopted but knew her birth mother had gone on to have another daughter.  She had seen photographs of Stacey over the years in one, the little girl is proudly holding a picture of the big sister she never met and had long harboured dreams of their eventual reunion.  ‘Like most people who are adopted, I’d clung to the idea of meeting a blood relative, especially a young sister. I had all these ideas about how we would be friends even if we hadn’t grown up together,’ Vickie says. ‘Now all that was gone.’

And gone in the bleakest way imaginable. Stacey had been murdered, strangled poignantly with her own plastic necklace.  The tragedy was devastating enough, but the finger of suspicion soon fell on Stacey and Vickie’s mother Gilliane, who was arrested and questioned twice although never charged.  In fact, no one has ever been brought to justice. Thirty-three years after Stacey died, her killer remains at large an injustice Vickie has dedicated her life to overturning.  ‘No family, whatever their circumstances, should have to wait 33 years for answers,’ she says.

It is one reason she is campaigning for the introduction of Stacey’s Law, which would require serious unsolved cold cases across the UK to be reviewed within five to ten years.  ‘We have so many people in this country who are forgotten and I don’t want Stacey to be just another statistic,’ Vickie says. ‘It is shocking that we do not have government guidance on case reviews that is standard across the country. Justice should not be a postcode lottery.  Stacey was a living, breathing human being with her whole life ahead of her. That was taken away from her. She was entitled to justice just as much as anybody else.’

Today, the softly spoken and personable Vickie is a 47-year-old mother of four children aged between 14 and 22. Yet, as well as a parent, she also still sees herself as the big sister to the sibling she never met.  ‘That’s the thread that weaves through my life,’ she says.

It is a life story shot through with trauma and dysfunction. Vickie’s mother was a teenager when she gave birth and did not put her father’s name on the birth certificate.  ‘To this day, I don’t know who he is,’ Vickie says.

The main male figure in their Bracknell household was her stepfather, a volatile and cruel man.  ‘I was so young that my memories are fleeting, but I remember enough and the scars on my body are a legacy of the things I can’t,’ Vickie says quietly. ‘There was a lot of violence, towards both me and my mum.’

One attack on his small stepdaughter was serious enough for him to be imprisoned for assault. Although Vickie is still trying to obtain the court records and does not know the precise details, she knows he returned home after only a few months behind bars.  Soon afterwards social services intervened and Vickie just three years old was permanently removed from the family home.  ‘I was taken away by a social worker in a yellow car,’ she says. ‘Mum didn’t even turn up to say goodbye. I remember looking through the back windscreen, hoping she would come. She never did.’

Vickie had no way of knowing it would be the last time she would ever see her mother, although Gilliane attempted to maintain some contact through social workers.  Gilliane went on to have two more children first Stacey and then another daughter, who was also subsequently adopted and whom Vickie has never met. While Stacey had a different biological father, Vickie is unsure under what circumstances she remained in the family home given her stepfather’s conviction.  Though, following the adoption, Vickie did not have direct contact with her birth mother until she was 18, occasionally photographs would be sent by Gilliane to her adoptive parents, which they could pass on to her.  For the young Vickie, they became something precious to hold on to a link to the relatives she hoped one day to know.  ‘I yearned to meet them,’ she says.

Then, aged 13, came the hammer blow when Vickie saw the poster about Stacey’s death.  ‘I didn’t know Stacey’s surname,’ Vickie says. ‘But even though I hadn’t seen a picture of her for a while, in my heart I just knew it was my sister.’

The instinct proved correct; after Vickie confided in her adoptive mother, two police officers came to the house and confirmed the dreadful truth. Stacey was, indeed, her sister - and she had been murdered.  Days earlier, on January 24, 1993, the blonde seven-year-old had apparently vanished from her family home and been reported missing by Gilliane. At around 9pm, her body was discovered in nearby woodland.  A post-mortem examination later concluded she had been strangled elsewhere with her necklace before being dumped in the woods, as investigators noted her shoes were clean despite the muddy undergrowth.  ‘I remember just feeling shock and disbelief,’ Vickie recalls.

The maelstrom of emotions was quickly compounded by news Gilliane had been arrested.  ‘I can’t explain what it felt like to see my birth mother’s face peering out from the national news linked to Stacey’s murder,’ she says. ‘I couldn’t get my head around it.’

Nor could she escape it. ‘By then it was national news and locally it was all anyone could talk about. I still lived in the same town so you couldn’t get away from it. It was everywhere – on the radio, in the newspapers, everywhere you went.’

‘Why did she die?’ screamed one headline.

It was a question that, although Vickie did not know it then, would never be answered. While there was evidence of significant dysfunction within the Queripel household the inquest later heard numerous men regularly passed through the property to smoke cannabis and Gilliane had struggled to cope with her spirited daughter the circumstances of Stacey’s death have never been fully established.  Perhaps most painfully of all, Vickie was not allowed to attend her sister’s funeral because it was being televised.  ‘Police and social workers said it was to protect my identity,’ she says. ‘I know they were trying to do the right thing, but it left me feeling so isolated and alone in my grief,’ says Vickie.

‘I felt guilty too. I was Stacey’s big sister. I should have been there to protect her. I had this strong sense that it should have been me.’

Those feelings only intensified as the weeks turned into months and no charges were brought, despite the coroner at Stacey’s inquest ruling she had been unlawfully killed.  ‘It felt like Stacey had been forgotten about,’ Vickie recalls. ‘It was a really difficult time. My adoptive family was quite tumultuous and I had all these conflicting emotions about being adopted. I felt very lost.’

There were nightmares, too, from which she would wake screaming. By the age of 15, overwhelmed by grief, confusion and feelings of abandonment, she tried to take her own life.  Thankfully she survived and today she describes it as a painful but pivotal turning point. ‘I realised I did want to be here after all,’ she says.

After leaving school at 17, Vickie began a catering apprenticeship before, in her early 20s, meeting the father of her eldest son.  By then, having turned 18, she had been given correspondence from Gilliane via her social worker.  ‘She didn’t really mention Stacey in the letters, but by then I had already decided I didn’t want anything to do with her,’ she says. ‘I wrote back to say I wasn’t interested. I knew meeting her wouldn’t give me any closure.’

She has had no contact with her birth mother since. ‘I know she is still alive, though she has moved out of the area. Beyond that, I don’t know and I don’t want to know.’

Tragically Vickie would later find herself trapped in a cycle bearing painful similarities to the one she had escaped as a child.  After separating from her eldest son's father, she met another man who initially appeared to offer safety and stability. Instead the relationship quickly became abusive.  Volatile, possessive and jealous, he controlled every aspect of her life, even ordering her to destroy photographs from her past because they were ‘disrespectful’ to him. He was also physically violent.  Looking back Vickie recognises the signs of coercive control: the gradual isolation from family and friends, the constant put-downs, the violence, followed by apologies, declarations of love and promises to change.  At the time, however, she felt trapped. Having fallen pregnant not long after they met, she went on to have three more children in the space of five years.  ‘I was either pregnant or breastfeeding,’ she says. ‘I tried to leave many times, but the post-separation abuse was so bad that it was easier to go back.  Part of me desperately wanted to believe his promises because he was the father of my children.  This cycle went on for a long time, and it is only now that I can see the desperate irony of the fact that the life I had escaped from as a child had become my normality.’

The unexpected turning point came in 2015, when Vickie saw news footage of Alan Kurdi, the two-year-old Syrian refugee whose body washed ashore after he drowned in the Mediterranean alongside his mother and brother while attempting to reach Europe.  The image shocked the world and for Vickie it sparked something deeply personal. ‘He was a very similar age to my youngest child at the time, and I was really struck by the story of a mum just wanting to get a better life for her son. It sparked something within me that made me want to look outwards.’

TWO TRAGIC SISTERS

1983 - Three-year-old Vickie, born to a teenage mum and an unknown father, is removed from the family home by social services after her violent stepfather returned to the family home after his release from jail.

1985 - Stacey is born to Gilliane, Vickie's biological mother, followed by another daughter. Stacey remains in her mother's care but her other sister, like Vickie, is adopted.

January 24, 1993, 5.30pm - Stacey is seen for the last time by her mother. The little girl apparently went to bed early after an argument.

January 24 1993, 8pm - Stacey's mother realises she isn't in her bed and reports the seven-year-old missing.

January 24, 1993, 9pm - Stacey's body is found in the grounds of South Hill Park by a police dog handler. At first it is thought that she was strangled accidentally when her plastic necklace caught on a tree, but it soon becomes clear she was murdered.

Aftermath - Stacey's mother Gilliane was arrested twice on suspicion of murder but released without charge. In 2023, a cold case review was finally opened, but Stacey's murder remains unsolved to this day.

That realisation led her to begin working with refugees and in time gave her the confidence to leave her abusive partner for good. He was eventually convicted of multiple offences, including assault by beating and stalking.  Vickie later established her own survivor-led support charity called Kaleidoscopic, which provides long-term support to hundreds of victims of domestic abuse across the country, including a specialist playgroup where mothers can connect with others who have faced similar experiences. She has received a British Empire Medal for her work with refugees and domestic violence sufferers.  And, in what she describes as a ‘full-circle moment’, one of those support groups takes place close to where Stacey’s body was found.  ‘I’ve created a place of safety in a place that held such terrible memories and that feels wonderful,’ she says.

Stacey’s grave lies nearby, a simple headstone beneath a statue of a young girl holding out her hands.  Vickie tends it lovingly, just as she tends her sister’s memory with equal devotion, telephoning Thames Valley Police every year to ask about the state of the investigation into her death. Every year she was told little had changed.  Then, three years ago, with the support of her local MP James Sunderland, she was informed a cold case review was finally being opened.  It was a victory of sorts but, as Vickie points out, three years on she still appears no closer to the answers she has waited decades for.  ‘Every year that passes makes it less likely that someone will be held accountable,’ she says.

It is one reason she has campaigned so passionately for Stacey’s Law.  ‘Some police forces regularly review unsolved cases but others don’t, and justice shouldn’t depend on where you happen to live,’ she says.

While she cannot discuss details of the case because of the ongoing review, Vickie does not believe her birth mother was responsible. ‘What she knew or didn’t know, I cannot say. But I do not believe she killed my sister,’ she says.

‘I will fight until my last breath to make sure Stacey isn’t forgotten. People talk about cold cases as though they’re files gathering dust on a shelf. But Stacey wasn’t just a case. She was my little sister.’

* To support Stacey’s Law visit petition.parliament.uk/petitions/765952

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Articles / My 13-year-old asked, 'Are you my mum or my sister?': STACE DON hoped her ....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on June 20, 2026, 01:58:01 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15912019/My-13-year-old-asked-you-mum-sister-STACE-DON-hoped-incestuous-family-secret-stay-hidden-reveals-pride-daughter-refuses-ashamed.html

My 13-year-old asked, 'Are you my mum or my sister?': STACE DON hoped her incestuous family secret could stay hidden. Now she reveals her pride in her daughter who refuses to be ashamed

    READ MORE: Boy, 3, 'attacked by at least one crocodile' after being 'thrown into zoo pit by man with learning difficulties who broke away from carers' - as suspect 'not fit for interview' is bailed
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By ANN CUSACK

Published: 11:30, 20 June 2026 | Updated: 11:30, 20 June 2026

Kadie Don clearly remembers the shocking moment her mother explained she had become pregnant by her own father, and that she was the child from that pregnancy.   Aged 13, confused and shocked, Kadie asked: 'So are you my mum or my sister now?'

As a bewildered child, she struggled to make sense of it. But five years on, Kadie, now 18, is speaking out with the aim of supporting other children who live with trauma.  Kadie, from Oldham, says: 'I've never met anyone in the same situation as me and it can be a lonely place.  I want to be there for other kids, to let them know they are not on their own. Knowing the truth has ultimately brought me and Mum so much closer. People say how alike we are but they have no idea just how much we share.'

Kadie's mother, Stace Don, 37, was physically and mentally abused by her natural father, Nigel Taylor.  She spent much of her childhood in foster care and her brief spells staying with him were scarred by neglect and cruelty.  Aged 17, she went to stay with Taylor for Christmas because she had nowhere else to go. But he took away her bank card and phone and refused to let her leave for six months afterwards.  On the eve of her 18th birthday in April 2007 Taylor forced himself on her and she fell pregnant.   Despite Taylor trying to coerce her into having a termination, Stace bravely continued with her pregnancy and Kadie was born in February 2008.  Stace had no further contact with her father but when Kadie was two and a half, she went to the police and made a complaint.  Taylor was jailed for seven years in April 2011 at Basildon Crown Court after admitting sexual activity with a child family member.  He was ordered to sign the sexual offenders' register and ordered to stay away from Stace. A charge of rape was left to lie on file.  Meanwhile Kadie grew up not knowing who her father was.  She says: 'Mum was brilliant. When I was small, she painted a princess bedroom for me. She made a big fuss at Christmas and birthdays. I went to dance class and acting lessons. I didn't even question who my dad was; Mum was enough.'

But by the age of 13, she was becoming curious.  She says: 'Mum never let me play out or go on sleepovers. She was overprotective and I didn't know why.  I wanted to know why I didn't have a dad, or a grandfather. Even my friends from single parent families knew who their dads were but I didn't even know his name.  One Saturday morning, I got up early and I was halfway out of the window, off to meet my friends, when Mum caught me.  She agreed to give me a little bit of freedom, just on our street. She let me go to the corner shop one day and I was followed by a man in a white van. I ran home, screaming.  Mum was so afraid, she had always worried about him tracking us down, and so she finally had to tell me the truth.  I was only 13 and I couldn't take it in. I asked: "Does that make you my sister?" which really upset her.  I rebelled, insisting I wanted to meet him to make up my own mind. I didn't doubt he was a bad person but I wanted to see that for myself.   Mum agreed I could meet a paternal aunt who told me Nigel Taylor was a West Ham fan and I really wanted to know more details about him. It was part of my identity, no matter how difficult.  But when she said I looked like him, I was appalled. I didn't want that, I didn't want any physical connection with him.'

For several years, Kadie kept the truth about her natural father hidden.  She says: 'Mum tried to get support from social services, but they said they'd never come across a case like ours before. They didn't know what to suggest or how to support us.  As time went on, Mum told me more, explaining she had been raised in foster care because her parents could not look after her.  But in her teens, Nigel Taylor, her father, took her to live with him. He was physically, mentally and sexually abusive to her.  And on the eve of her 18th birthday he forced himself on her and she fell pregnant. Mum told me she loved me from that first moment.'

Taylor had allegedly threatened to kill Stace if she ever admitted he was the father of her child.  Kadie says: 'That was why Mum was so protective. She was living in fear that he would one day find us.  I'd always known Mum was strong. But hearing what she'd been through, I was overwhelmed. I understood why she had kept the truth from me for as long as she could.'

But the revelation weighed heavy on Kadie also. Like Stace, she became anxious and overprotective.  Kadie says: 'I looked after my mum, as she looked after me. With no support for either of us, I became a young carer. Mum was open about what she had been through, but I wasn't ready to speak out.  I confided in a school friend and he told everyone, which was devastating at the time. Some kids were quite cruel. But mostly, people were very supportive and I was glad it was out there. I realised I had nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide.'

Aged 18, Kadie has just finished a college course in health and social care. Stace has launched 'Safe, Seen and Heard', a series of preventative programmes to educate and support teenagers and adults, raising awareness of healthy boundaries and safe spaces.  Kadie says: 'I would like to support children and teenagers through trauma; nobody should feel alone. Mum is incredibly strong and loving and she is a survivor. I am proud when people say how alike we are.'

Stace says: 'I'm really proud of Kadie speaking out and think she is incredible. I've always protected her but Kadie has been affected by the aftermath of my trauma and the complexities.  I advocate for people to speak out and I think my daughter is so brave. Now she is 18 I want her to have her voice and not be silenced.'

The family's story is told in My Girl, a book written by Stace Don: www.thelifeofstacedon.org.uk

4

Articles / How adoptive parents' lies unravelled to reveal 'reign of terror'

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on June 16, 2026, 05:05:49 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyp77l79e9o

How adoptive parents' lies unravelled to reveal 'reign of terror'

Lauren Hirst North West.

Published 15 June 2026

As Jamie Varley begged medics to save the life of his adopted 13-month-old son, he told them: "It's my fault I left him for literally two minutes while I went and got changed."

This was not an admission of guilt, but the start of Varley's web of lies.  The truth behind Varley's months of deceit only came to light when his baby Preston Davey died in hospital on 27 July 2023 after months of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of the 37-year-old former teacher.  After an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court, Varley - who had maintained that Preston drowned in the bath was found guilty of murdering him, and a string of other offences including sexual assault and taking indecent images of the child he was trusted to care for.  Varley's partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was also convicted of allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual abuse.  For Lancashire Police Det Ch Insp Andy Fallows, who was the senior investigating officer on the case, Varley's behaviour in hospital was "almost like a pantomime".

"We see a very different Jamie Varley at different stages," said Fallows.

"The jury has seen him on that evening [in hospital], throwing himself to the floor saying that he didn't believe it was true it felt very contrived.  We saw a very different Jamie Varley in the suspect interviews on 25 June 2025 just before he was charged, both in terms of appearance, demeanour and attitude.  I think we saw a different Jamie Varley giving evidence during his trial: obstructive, wholly inconsistent and wholly unbelievable.  Jamie Varley is a manipulator.  He has sought to change his account, frustrate and blame other people when the truth was there right in front of him.  He had caused those injuries and he had killed Preston Davey."

Preston, who had been taken into care when he was five days old, and nine months later, in April 2023 was adopted by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.  After Preston began living at their home in Blackpool in Lancashire he began to suffer non-accidental "cluster" injuries of bruising, seizures or respiratory failures, and there was evidence of abnormality of his anatomy.  On 27 July 2023, he was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital by Varley, who had taken a year off work as head of year at a high school, to adopt him.  He told medical staff he had left the child in the bath for two or three minutes and returned to find him submerged.  Medics were unable to revive Preston, and he was pronounced dead in hospital.  A post-mortem examination found 40 external and internal trauma injuries to the child's body, with some consistent with "forcible penetration" and sexual abuse, ruling out drowning as a cause of death.  "My view is that the bath incident never happened at all, as Preston wasn't wet," said Fallows.

"There was no evidence of drowning, no evidence in the autopsy that Preston had swallowed water. It was wholly inconsistent.  Preston Davey had been sexually abused, probably twice on that particular day, in really tragic circumstances. And ultimately that has contributed to his death."

Fallows said over the course of the trial the jury was shown many examples of psychological and emotional abuse as well.  He described "keeping a clearly tired sleeping baby awake for no other purpose other than amusement" and "leaving a baby in a bath for 14 minutes whilst videoing it" among the ways Preston was tormented.

"It was almost like a sordid amusement that Jamie Varley has treated Preston as a plaything, as his property. And that poor child has been subject to a reign of terror."

The senior investigating officer said while it was true McGowan-Fazakerley, a financial sales manager, was in work on the day Preston died, he had been taking a "hear no evil see no evil" approach.  "He saw and cared for Preston Davey on a daily basis," said Fallows.

"He must have seen a significant amount of injuries over that four-month period.  He knew that Preston had suffered a fracture to his arm.  He must have seen bite marks to Preston Davey's buttocks because photographic evidence was taken with his mobile phone.  He wasn't there on the evening, but he should have known."

Evidence showed that Preston "had a happy, settled, content life for the first nine months of his life in the care of foster parents who clearly loved him deeply".

Fallows said the police investigation had not looked at what "could have or should have happened by other agencies" but focused on prosecuting the two men.  In the months before his death, Preston was taken to hospital three times.  Firstly for a nose bleed and seizure, for the second time with a rash and bruising and on the third occasion with a fractured left elbow.  When social workers visited Preston at home, they did not feel that he was in danger.  "I'm the investigating officer in relation to a murder investigation," said Fallows, when questioned on whether alarm bells should have been raised.

"Here and now, it should be about Preston Davey.  Those questions will naturally be picked up by other people at a later date."

Fallows also said the investigation had not revealed any evidence to suggest the men had a sexual interest in children prior to the adoption.  "We looked into the background of both and we've not uncovered any evidence that would suggest that either of them have had a sexual interest in children or uncovered any evidence that would suggest that they have previously been abusive to children or were in any way a danger to children," said Fallows.

"In fact up to the point that they've become Preston's adopted parents, they were presented as men of good character.  Again, the reality was rather different.  Did Jamie Varley source a child in order to sexually abuse and murder?  That isn't the evidence in the case, and it isn't the case that we presented.  I suppose the only person that will ever know that is Jamie Varley, but people may come to their own conclusions after following the evidence in the trial."

5

Articles / I was given up for adoption as a baby and was always curious about my real ....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on June 07, 2026, 05:47:57 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/crime-desk/article-15519449/Granddaughter-penultimate-woman-hanged-Britain-murder-London.html

I was given up for adoption as a baby and was always curious about my real family then I found out they had a dark secret

    Caroline Muirhead got engaged to a killer then a made a mistake she could not take back. To find out what happened next sign up to The Crime Desk newsletter HERE
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By AIDAN RADNEDGE, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 11:51, 7 June 2026 | Updated: 13:23, 7 June 2026

Stephanie Howarth grew up as a child with loving parents in Herne Bay, a quaint town on the Kent coast, but when she looked in the mirror she had a sense that she was different from her family.  Her olive skin and dark hair stood out against the pale complexion of her parents and when she turned eight years old her mother and father decided to tell her why she was adopted.  Such news could rock the foundations of even the closest family but Stephanie continued to live a happy life with her 'lovely' adopted parents cherishing their affection and care.  Yet, she was forever curious about her biological family and despite fighting pangs of guilt, she began a long journey to find the truth scouring libraries across the UK to discover more about her mother and father.  Little did she know that hidden in her adoption papers was a sinister secret linking her to one of Britain’s most notorious female killers, a celebrity executioner and a street with a dark past.  Stephanie uncovered a family link to Styllou Christofi, who was executed at north London's Holloway Prison in 1953 after killing her daughter-in-law Hella.  Stavros Christofi, Stephanie's father, had three children with Hella before another four in his second marriage. Stephanie was born of an affair in between the two relationships in 1956.   Stephanie told The Crime Desk: 'I never met my birth father. It was difficult to know what I felt when I found out.  It's quite a thing to find out you're adopted and inevitably there will be a sad story behind it. My discovery had the extra element of hearing about murder and hanging.  There was a piece of paper with the names of my birth parents and the occupation and address of my birth father.  I went to a library in Manchester and found some notes one of them was connected to my birth mother and a lot of things fell into place and there were family members to contact.'   

She adds: 'It's very strange. I'm happy to tell people I'm Styllou's granddaughter, although I didn't used to.  Some people step back when it comes up you should see their reactions, they're shocked.  'I've been told, "I wouldn't tell anyone about that" but it's not something connected with me. I'm not her.'

At her Old Bailey trial starting in October 1954, Christofi's lawyers argued defence by insanity but this was rejected by a jury who found her guilty of murder and she was hanged at Holloway prison on December 15 that year.  Stephanie uncovered a family link to Styllou Christofi, who was executed at north London's Holloway Prison in 1953 after killing her daughter-in-law Hella.  Stavros Christofi, Stephanie's father, had three children with Hella before another four in his second marriage. Stephanie was born of an affair in between the two relationships in 1956. Researching her family, Stephanie discovered that her Greek-Cypriot grandmother was no stranger to violence and had been found guilty in Cyprus in 1925 for murdering her mother-in-law having thrust a lighted torch down the victim's throat.  Christofi is said to have argued frequently with her daughter-in-law after arriving from Cyprus to live with her son and his family in 1953 12 years after Stavros had moved to London.  Reports at the time of her trial told of her resenting the fact Stavros and German-born fashion model Hella were bringing up their three children as English.  The murder in July 1954 came as Hella was preparing to take the children on a trip to her native Germany, while Stavros wanted to persuade his mother to return to Cyprus.  Stavros had left for work at London's Cafe de Paris on the evening of July 29 1954 and the children had been put to bed, when Christofi approached Hella from behind in the kitchen and knocked her unconscious with a blow to her head with a metal pan.  The killer then strangled her victim, removed Hella's wedding ring and moved the body to the garden where she poured on paraffin and started a fire. A neighbour saw her setting alight to Hella's body in the family's garden but inexplicably did not raise an alarm.  Christofi then ran into the street to raise the alarm as the flames flared out of control.  When police were called, the neighbour who had passed by earlier thinking a mannequin had been on fire told officers what he saw.  A subsequent search of the home found Hella's wedding ring in Christofi's bedroom. She could provide no explanation about the ring's whereabouts, while also telling officers questioning her: 'I wake up, smell burning, go downstairs. Hella burning. Throw water, touch her face. Not move. Run out, get help.'

At her Old Bailey trial starting in October 1954, Christofi's lawyers argued defence by insanity but this was rejected by a jury who found her guilty of murder and she was hanged at Holloway prison on December 15 that year.  While Stephanie never knew her biological father, she has at least learnt family stories about him including his brush with Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich when she visited central London's Café de Paris, while working as a maître d’ in the 1940s and 1950s.  Ms Howarth said: 'My father found himself taken away in a taxi with Marlene Dietrich.  She was pursued by photographers and asked him to fold her coat over her to hide.'

But there were further twist and turns for Stephanie to discover in her family story this time linking her grandmother to one of Britain’s most infamous female killers, Ruth Ellis.  Coincidentally, both Christofi and Ellis carried out their murders in the 1950s in the very same street South Hill Park in Hampstead, north London.  Hella's death was just 11 months before Ellis shot her lover David Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, just 100m from Christofi's home.  South Hill Park has subsequently become the address of celebrities including Bill Oddie, Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Ross, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel with comic Skinner darkly remarking on his podcast how it looks on the map like the shape of a noose.  Albert Pierrepoint, the hangman who executed both women at Holloway prison, later commented sympathetically on how the Greek-Cypriot woman's death was downplayed by contrast.  Ellis was hanged by Pierrepoint on July 13 1955 seven months after the same fate at the same jail for Christofi, on December 15 1954.  He gave the riposte: 'Why weren't you waiting to ask me that question last year, sonny? Wasn't Mrs Christofi a woman too?'

Pierrepoint, writing in his 1974 biography, Executioner: Pierrepoint, noted how Ellis as a 'blonde night-club hostess' captured more intrigue than 'a grey-haired and bewildered grandmother who spoke no English'.

Speaking of the grandmother she never met, Stephanie expressed some sympathy for the difficulties faced back in those post-war years arriving in Britain.  She said: 'She came over all alone probably illiterate. She didn't speak English all the way she went through the court system.  She came from a tiny community in Cyprus, Greek Orthodox, very strict. Policing came in the families there.  I don't think people quite realise what happens with hanging, just how absolutely brutal it is.'

Christofi and Ellis were both buried in unmarked graves at Holloway then exhumed in 1971 along with three other female murderers of the 20th century.  These included Edith Thompson, executed in 1923 for the murder of her husband Percy.  Also interred at Holloway then disinterred at the same time were 'baby farmers' Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, who had been hanged at the jail in February 1903 after being found guilty of murdering infants in East Finchley, north London.  All were transferred to Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey in 1971 except for Ellis, whose remains were returned to her family.  Thompson was exhumed in 2018 and buried in her family plot beside her mother.  It has been Ellis's case that drew the most attention, not only in headlines at the time but in subsequent film and TV recreations.  These have included the 1985 movie Dance With A Stranger, starring Miranda Richardson, and last year's ITV docudrama series A Cruel Love with Lucy Boynton in the leading role.  Now, looking back after her research into the Christofi case, Stephanie added: 'All I wanted to do was found out why I looked like I did, what the situation was.  I'm not sure if I ever really found what I was looking for but I know that my olive skin is inherited from the Greek side of the family.  It has been commented on that I have a Greek look about me, particularly in that photograph.  I still wonder whether I look like my birth father or even my birth grandmother.'

6

Articles / Secret new life of loathed influencer Myka Stauffer: Insiders reveal 'behind ...

« Last post by RDsmum on June 02, 2026, 02:41:32 PM »

https://www.dailymail.com/lifestyle/article-15855599/myka-stauffer-new-life-details-rehoming-adopted-son.html

Secret new life of loathed influencer Myka Stauffer: Insiders reveal 'behind the scenes' details of mom who vanished after sparking outrage for 'rehoming' adopted son

By MEREDITH CLARK, US SENIOR NEWS FEATURES WRITER, DAILYMAIL+

Updated: 14:32, 1 June 2026

For Ohio parenting vlogger Myka Stauffer, having a big family was the ultimate goal.  The YouTuber, 38, and her husband James Stauffer, 40, had been documenting their daily lives for eight years on her successful channel, where she boasted more than half a million subscribers.  With four biological children and a fifth child adopted from China, the Stauffers were on their way to becoming the 'one big happy family' that Myka had always dreamed of.  That is, until she posted a video revealing why her adopted son Huxley had disappeared from their social media content.  Sitting beside her husband on their bed and wearing matching white T-shirts, a tearful Myka revealed they had 'rehomed' Huxley due to his behavioral issues just three years after welcoming their son into their family.  The backlash was fierce, with the Delaware County Sheriff's Department receiving such a swarm of complaints from enraged fans that they launched an investigation into the wellbeing of the Stauffer's adopted son.  Nearly six years later, Myka has practically vanished from the internet.  Apart from her Instagram archive of curated family photos sans Huxley, and her husband's car detailing YouTube channel, the daily vlogger hasn't posted on social media since 2020 and has kept comments on her Instagram limited.  After the 2025 HBO Max documentary An Update On Our Family brought renewed attention to Huxley's rehoming, many former fans were left wondering where Myka and her young children are today. But according to sources who exclusively spoke to the Daily Mail, the Stauffers are intent on maintaining a low profile.  'It was an impossible situation. I don't think anyone did everything perfectly right,' said Michael Tobin, an Ohio-based videographer and a family friend of the Stauffers.

It was 2012 when Myka Bellisari, then a full-time nurse, began posting videos about weight loss and life as a single mother on YouTube.  She had welcomed her first daughter, Nakova, with her former partner Joshua Colliver in 2011.  The couple were living in Indianapolis and engaged to be married, as an old Blogspot post from May 2012 resurfaced by the Daily Mail revealed. They had set a wedding date for the following year.  However, it seems they broke up shortly after their engagement, with Myka meeting her current husband James on the dating site OKCupid in 2012.  Today, Colliver lives in Georgia and works as a physician assistant. He did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  Myka and James were married in 2013, the same year they welcomed their first child together, daughter Jaka. The couple went on to welcome biological sons Radley in 2015 and Onyx in 2019.  They also launched a joint YouTube channel called The Stauffer Life, where Myka would share daily vlogs about their family routine, homeschooling, and cooking and cleaning videos. She ultimately quit nursing, telling her YouTube viewers that James's job as an engineer paid 'at least three times' what she was making.  Tobin, who first met the couple around seven years ago when he was hired to film promotional content for the Stauffers, said Myka and James were just like any other 'regular' couple.  He and his wife, who also have children, soon became 'best friends' with the Stauffers and their kids 'got along pretty well'.  'That family [vlogging] niche is very interesting because you never know what you'll get on screen versus behind the scenes, but it was pretty close to what you saw on screen,' he told the Daily Mail.

'They were very hard-working and business-oriented but they also were chill, funny, and just kind of regular.'

By 2020, Myka had racked up a whopping 700,000 subscribers on her personal YouTube channel and 300,000 subscribers on their family channel.  Their popularity was due in part to clickbait titles promising intimate details within each video, with videos about Myka's fertility journey and pregnancy announcements performing especially well.  Channon Rose, a fellow lifestyle and parenting YouTuber with 968,000 subscribers, first connected with Myka in August 2018 when the two shared their mutual love for each other's content over Instagram DM.  Nearly eight years later, Rose who appeared in the HBO documentary An Update On Our Family still describes Myka as 'one of the kindest people' she has ever met.  'Everything I knew about Myka, from actually knowing her as a person and not a public figure, was that she was one of the kindest people to me,' Rose, 40, told the Daily Mail.

In July 2016, Myka and James shared another surprising announcement with their subscribers that they were in the process of adopting a little boy from China.  As fans of the YouTuber were well aware, Myka had long expressed her desire to expand their family through adoption. Her husband was initially hesitant, she said, but he ultimately agreed.  The couple said they were adopting through the now-closed agency World Association for Children and Parents, or WACAP, and suggested the adoption process was quicker than adopting a child within the United States.  Myka said they looked through hundreds of photos of children who were available for adoption, but none of them 'spoke' to her like the photo of the child they would later rename Huxley.  The adoption agency had informed the Stauffers that Huxley had a 'brain tumor', Myka wrote in a 2019 essay for Parade, but it wasn't until later that they would learn about Huxley's autism diagnosis.  Indeed, Myka's popularity on the platform skyrocketed as she posted viral content about their son's adoption. The Stauffers posted nearly 30 videos throughout their adoption journey, culminating in a YouTube video titled: 'Huxley's EMOTIONAL Adoption VIDEO!! GOTCHA DAY China Adoption.'

The video, which documented the family's trip to China to meet the two-year-old, received a whopping 5.5 million views on YouTube before it was permanently deleted. Intimate moments such as Huxley's first Christmas with their family, bonding with his new siblings and family days out were also shared online.  It seemed Myka's rising popularity had paid off, too, as she landed partnerships with brands such as Glossier, Mattel and Fabletics, and posted sponsored Instagram content for Tide, Canada Dry and Walmart.  The Stauffers apparently used some of the money earned from Myka's YouTube career to fund Huxley's adoption from China.  In a video from January 2017, she asked fans to donate $5 to 'unlock a puzzle piece' that would one day go into Huxley's baby book so he could see 'all the people who helped to generously bring him home'.

In another sponsored video posted in May that year, Myka said she was using the money raised from YouTube ads to go towards Huxley's adoption, writing in the description: 'All Profits are going towards bringing our SON home from China!'

The Stauffers also helped raise money for Huxley's adoption through a GoFundMe page.   In a Delaware County Sheriff's Office investigation report obtained by the Daily Mail, the Stauffers claimed they raised just $800 from the fundraiser, and the total cost of Huxley's adoption was $42,000.  As her content took off, fans began to notice a shift in Myka's otherwise relatable lifestyle. In a 2018 video, Myka was seen wearing an 18-karat gold Cartier Love bracelet that cost more than $6,000 at the time.  It was in that same video that Myka told fans they were downgrading Huxley's speech therapy sessions due to high costs.  But in October that year, the couple purchased a four-bedroom, five-bathroom home in a suburb of Columbus for $670,000. The 4,824sqft home featured multiple fireplaces, a finished basement and a three-car garage.  While it seemed that Myka's YouTube career had taken off, she soon informed her followers of a personal setback. Their adopted son Huxley did not have a brain tumor at all; rather, he had suffered a stroke in utero and had autism and sensory processing disorder.  He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder level three, the most severe form of autism, which created challenges with his communication. But in a YouTube video posted before his adoption, Myka told viewers 'my child is not returnable' and that they 'would love' the youngster 'no matter what state' he came to them in making what happened later even more shocking.  Throughout 2019, Myka shared updates on Huxley's autism diagnosis and ongoing treatment plan. She gushed over being the mother of a child on the autism spectrum for parenting sites like Bump and Mom. She posted clips about his food anxiety and his progress with speech, and even filmed some of Huxley's nonverbal meltdowns.  The couple also revealed that Huxley had trouble breaking his thumb-sucking habit, though they later faced backlash for a since-deleted video that showed Huxley wearing a thumb guard. Eagle-eyed viewers also shared their concerns when they discovered a deleted clip of Huxley wearing what appeared to be duct tape on his thumb.  The Stauffers expanded their family once again in June 2019 with the birth of their son Onyx, but fans soon began to notice a shift in Myka's content namely, that Huxley was no longer being featured on the YouTube channel.  In May 2020, the Stauffers finally answered questions about Huxley's whereabouts in a now infamous YouTube video, titled An Update On Our Family, in which they revealed they were 'rehoming' Huxley.  'With international adoption, sometimes there are unknowns and things that are not transparent on files,' James said. 'Once Huxley came home, there was a lot more special needs that we weren't aware of, and that we were not told.'

Myka added that a private adoption agency had helped place Huxley with his 'forever family', and that his 'new mommy has medical, professional training' with children on the autism spectrum.  While the YouTuber stressed that the family loved Huxley, she explained they weren't able to give him the appropriate care that he needed.  'There's not an ounce of our body that doesn't love Huxley with all of our being,' she said, as her eyes welled up with tears. The influencer said 'the last couple months have been the hardest thing [she] could have ever imagined'.

'Do I feel like a failure as a mom? Like, 500 percent,' she admitted.

The couple ended their emotional video with a plea for fans to have 'grace' with them during this difficult time.  'We are still struggling,' Myka said. 'We are going to be heartbroken for a very long time.'

Unsurprisingly, many critics accused the couple of adopting Huxley as a stunt to gain viewers and money from monetized adoption content.  Myka was dropped by Kate Hudson's sportswear company Fabletics, as well as her partnerships with PlaytexBaby, Mattel and Suave.  As the Stauffers' decision to 'rehome' their adopted child sent shockwaves across the internet, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office was forced to launch an investigation after receiving complaints from angry viewers.  In the redacted incident report obtained by the Daily Mail, officer Susanna Leonard wrote that she conducted a 'wellbeing check' on Huxley at his new residence after unnamed tipsters had sent reports that contained 'allegations of abuse'.  Leonard confirmed she met with Huxley and his new 'adoptive family' on June 9, 2020, and Huxley 'appeared to be very happy and well taken care of'.  As part of the investigation, Leonard also met with the Stauffer family on June 4. They provided specific details about Huxley's behavior, according to the report, which included claims of his 'severe aggression towards the other kids'.  The Stauffers described the alleged incidents as 'a very traumatic experience' for their kids, and shared their concerns that his aggressive behavior would worsen as he got older.  The family also claimed they hired 'medical professionals' and therapists to analyze Huxley's behavior, as they described his 'self-injuries' from 'sucking his thumb so raw that he would have blisters'.  According to the report, the Stauffers said they 'couldn't take care of him any more' and that Huxley's rehoming 'had to happen'.  The Delaware County Sheriff's Office ultimately closed the case against the Stauffers on June 18, 2020, after determining there were no signs of physical abuse against any of the children.  Tobin confirmed as much to the Daily Mail, as he recalled how he and his wife visited the Stauffers at their home 'multiple times a week' before they rehomed Huxley.  'Every time we came over and I mean, we all hung out multiple times a week [Huxley] always had full-time therapists there and people trying to help,' he said.

As for their decision to place Huxley with a new adoptive family, Tobin described the emotional toll it took on his friends.  'It tore Myka apart, specifically. I know James was in a really dark place, but he wasn't talking about it,' Tobin said, adding: 'I don't envy anyone in that situation.'

Myka made her final social media post on June 24, where she finally addressed the 'uproar' that followed their rehoming video and apologized for 'letting down' her fans.  'This decision has caused so many people heartbreak and I'm sorry for letting down so many women that looked up to me as a mother,' Myka wrote.

She said she took 'full responsibility' for 'all of the hurt' her actions had caused, and apologized for 'not being able to tell more of my story from the beginning'.  She admitted she was in over her head when she adopted Huxley, calling herself 'naive' about adopting and not 'fully equipped' to deal with the challenge.  Myka said her desire to help a child made her act rashly, admitting: 'I wanted to help so bad I was willing to bring home any child that needed me. For this, I was naive, foolish, and arrogant,' she wrote.

'I wish so bad I would have been more prepared and done more. I wish the decision to disrupt never had to be made.'

Myka also 'debunked' rumors she adopted Huxley 'to gain wealth', explaining: 'While we did receive a small portion of money from videos featuring Huxley and his journey, every penny and much more went back into his care.  Getting Huxley the care and services he needed was very expensive and we made sure he got every service and resource we could possibly find,' she said.

Myka confirmed she and her husband 'are not under any type of investigation' and maintained it was 'the right decision' to place Huxley in someone else's care.  'I can't say I wish this never happened because I'm still so glad Huxley is here and getting all of the help he needs. I also know that even though he is happier in his new home and doing better, he still experienced trauma and I'm sorry, no adoptee deserves any more trauma,' she said.

Looking back, Rose said she believed the backlash the Stauffers received for their decision to rehome Huxley was 'completely blown out of proportion' and 'misconstrued' by the public.  'I don't think she would ever intentionally try to harm her kids,' she told the Daily Mail.

'I really think that everything that happened got completely blown out of proportion and misconstrued. I feel horrible for her because she's a really good person, and she really didn't deserve that public backlash.'

These days, it appears that Myka has entirely gone off the grid.  Her husband James continues to post on YouTube under his channel The Stauffer Garage, where he posts car flipping, cleaning and detailing videos to his 1.3 million subscribers. The couple did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  While Tobin revealed that he has grown apart from the Stauffers after his family moved away one year ago, he suggested that Myka still has a hand in her husband's social media career – even though she's now taken a backseat.  'She was always a good supporter of his strategy and stuff, so I think they're still doing that,' he told the Daily Mail.

As for Huxley, who is now ten years old, fans believe they have found the child living happily and out of the spotlight.  A social media account belonging to an 'accessible education teacher' named Lauren Flynn appeared to show photos of Huxley, who has since been given the Chinese name Yue Lin, thriving with his new siblings who similarly have special needs.

7

Articles / Adoptive dad 'ashamed' of photos he took of baby, murder trial hears

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 22, 2026, 11:56:16 AM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y0xz424v1o

Adoptive dad 'ashamed' of photos he took of baby, murder trial hears
Yunus Mulla
North West, Reporting from Preston Crown Court
Published 21 May 2026

A teacher accused of murdering a baby boy he had adopted has told a jury he never hurt or sexually abused the infant.  Jamie Varley denies the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey.  The 37-year-old, from Blackpool, also denied taking photographs or videos as "trophies" of sexual abuse, but told jurors at Preston Crown Court that he felt "disappointed" and "really ashamed" at some of the images he had taken on his phone.  Varley is alleged to have routinely sexually, physically and emotionally abused the baby he had adopted with his 32-year-old partner John McGowan-Fazakerley. Both men deny all charges against them.  In the fourth week of their trial, Varley gave evidence in his own defence for the first time.  Nick Johnson KC, defending Varley, began by asking: "On 27 July 2023, did you kill Preston Davey by deliberately blocking his airway?"

"No, I did not," Varley replied.

Johnson continued: "Did you sexually assault that child in any way? Did you ever willfully harm Preston physically or psychologically?"

Varley replied: "Absolutely not, our son has never been sexually abused. No."

Jurors were told Preston began living with the defendants at their home in Blackpool on 1 April 2023.  The prosecution allege Preston was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, and was sexually abused and physically assaulted.  The court heard Varley, who said he had severe dyslexia, became a design and technology teacher and head of year at a high school before meeting his partner.  Varley said: "I had always thought about having kids. I wanted to be a teacher, a daddy. just never thought it was possible once I realised I was a gay man.  John was everything I had ever asked for in a relationship. My whole life just changed when I met John."

Varley said the "early stages" of adoption had been an "eye opener" and that Preston was neither a good sleeper nor in a routine.  He added: "It was challenging in the sense it was new to us.  I felt because I had more experience than John, I felt it was going to be a breeze. But it wasn't."

Varley was asked to explain a text he had sent to his sister about Preston in which, after a sleepless night, he had written: "He's dead meat".

Varley said: "It was just language that I use. In social settings I'm dramatic. Sassy. I just easily throw words about."

He told jurors he had bonded with the baby better than he had expected, as he did not think he could love anything more than his dog, Max.  But his love for Preston exceeded that for his pet, he said.  He added: "When we got the little one, it was special. It was quick. It was strong."

Johnson then asked Varley about photographs of bruises on Preston, who appeared to have a "cluster" of them on his forehead, which child sex abuse expert Dr Joanne Gifford had described as a "red flag".  Varley said Preston, who was learning to crawl, would often bang his head and have little mishaps daily.  He denied ever deliberately bruising the child.  Johnson asked about a photograph of Preston playing naked in a paddling pool, which Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour said showed a shaded mark on the child's bottom which resembled a human bite mark.  Johnson said: "Did you ever bite Preston's bottom? What do you say to the suggestion you bit him and took a photo?"

Varley replied: "Absolutely not. Could not be more wrong."

'Very unsafe'

Johnson asked Varley about a series of photos on his phone of Preston in his cot, along with two toy teddy bears, four days before his death on 27 July 2023.  The images stretch over a period of three minutes and 12 seconds, with the child's head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot and his neck resting on the bar.  His body is apparently partially suspended, his legs in a "frog like" position and the child seemingly asleep or unconscious, described to the jury earlier as a "very unsafe" and "dangerous" position.  Varley said Preston had gone to sleep before in "funny positions" and, because he had done so again, he had taken pictures.  Johnson said: "Were these trophies of a sexual encounter?"

"No they were not, no," Varley replied. "I did not even recognise, at the moment, it was inappropriate.  I'm disappointed. I feel shamed. I feel really ashamed.  I did not mean to cause any distress, any harm in that moment. I felt he was safe.  I just wanted to capture him, all of his life. I just wanted to capture every part of his life."

Preston was rushed to hospital on 27 July 2023, having suffered a collapse and cardiac arrest, allegedly following a sexual assault by Varley.  Varley told police he had briefly left the child in the bath and when he returned Preston was off his bath seat and submerged.  The court has heard previously that a post-mortem examination had ruled out drowning and found multiple non-accidental internal and external injuries.  Preston's cause of death was found to be acute upper airway obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth.  The jury has heard some injuries to Preston were clinical signs of sexual abuse.  Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photographs or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photograph of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photograph.  McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.  The trial has been adjourned until Friday.  Post-mortem, 40 traumatic injuries were found on his body.

8

Articles / Boy's adoption overturned after mum dates prisoner

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 12, 2026, 11:35:14 AM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx21q2d2y3ro

Boy's adoption overturned after mum dates prisoner

Jonny Manning
North East and Cumbria

Published 11 May 2026

A two-year-old boy's adoption has been overturned after his adoptive mother failed to disclose she was in a relationship with an inmate at the prison where she worked.  In the Court of Appeal ruling, Lord Justice Peter Jackson said the boy was formally adopted by a married couple in Northumberland in November 2025.  However, the child's former social workers were recently told his adoptive father had moved out in October and his mother had begun a new relationship.  Barristers acting for Gateshead Council said the adoption was "unfair to the child" as it had been based on "mistaken" information.  The judge said the prisoner was in custody for drug offences and had previous convictions for battery and possession of weapons.  Jackson said the prisoner had also been accused of child sex offences, but no action was taken against him.  He was released in March but was returned to prison in April for breaching his licence conditions, after he was arrested over allegations of threatening behaviour and criminal damage at the adoptive mother's home, the judge said.

Adoption 'errors'

Social workers also learned the woman was caring for the prisoner's XL bully dog and had twice taken the child to visit the prisoner, who had begun referring to him as his "stepson".  The boy was removed from the mother's care in March and was placed with his adoptive father, before Gateshead Council sought to have the adoption overturned.  Neither his adoptive or birth parents attended the hearing.  His adoptive mother had previously told the council she did not want "any further involvement" with the child. Jackson said the boy had received a "high standard of care" from his adoptive parents, who social workers said loved him "unconditionally".  "The consequence of each of these errors was that the court acted on a fundamentally mistaken basis," he said.

Jackson said the adoption decision was not the fault of the original family court judge, who made it based on the information before her at the time.  The case will return to the family court to be dealt with at a later date.

9

Articles / Church of England expected to formally apologise for its role in forced ....

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 08, 2026, 11:52:09 AM »

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/09/church-of-england-formal-apology-forced-adoptions

Church of England expected to formally apologise for its role in forced adoptions

Survivors of UK’s mother and baby home scandal welcome news after long campaign for recognition

The Church of England is expected to make a formal apology for its role in forced adoptions and the UK’s mother and baby home scandal.  Survivors of the scandal in which hundreds of thousands of children were forcibly separated from their mothers have welcomed the news after years of campaigning for recognition.  The church ran and was linked to scores of institutions across the country where unmarried pregnant women were sent to have babies in secret in the postwar era before the infants were handed over to married couples, who in some cases had made donations to “moral welfare” organisations involved.  Anglican mother and baby homes were part of a network of properties nationwide, including homes run by the Catholic church and the Salvation Army, which worked alongside statutory agencies. Women and children faced abuse and neglect in the system, but the Westminster government has never formally apologised for its role.  The BBC reports that an “early draft” of an apology from the Church of England said: “We acknowledge the lifelong impact of these experiences and the part the church played in a system shaped by attitudes and behaviours that we now recognise as harmful. For the pain and trauma experienced and still carried by many women and children in church-affiliated mother and baby homes, we are deeply sorry”.

A 2021 parliamentary inquiry found there were 185,000 adoptions involving unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1973 alone and that the state was ultimately responsible for the suffering caused by public institutions and employees involved.  Because the last mother and baby homes closed in the late 1980s and records are incomplete, campaigners say many more people were affected.  Phil Frampton, a writer and campaigner from Manchester, was born in an Anglican institution in 1953 because his parents had been in a mixed heritage relationship. His Nigerian father, a mining engineering researcher, was removed from the country after it became known, while his white British mother, a grammar school teacher from Birmingham, was sent to the Rosemundy mother and baby home in St Agnes, Cornwall.  Frampton said: “A lot of survivors will be delighted. What’s coming is a big victory after all the campaigning people have done over the last 20 years providing that the wording is not mealy-mouthed and designed to protect the church. It will not be good enough for the church to say they were guided by the morality of they time they were supposed to set the morality of the time and they did that by their actions.  The church and state were the principal supporters of forced adoptions and they should be compensating all the survivors for the hell they put them through. If the church is fully open on this, under the new archbishop of Canterbury, then this is part of the pressure on the UK government to apologise. The UK is way behind in making an apology and providing access to records for survivors to find their children and parents, to bring closure and new beginnings.”

Research by Dr Michael Lambert of Lancaster University has indicated the use of the lactation-suppressing drug diethylstilbestrol, which has been linked to an increased risk of cancers, in some unmarried mothers’ homes, while an ITV investigation has revealed unmarked graves across England contain the bodies of babies who did not survive.  Giving evidence to the education select committee last month, the children and families minister, Josh MacAlister, acknowledged that the UK state “had a role” in historical forced adoptions and said the case for a formal apology was “being actively considered”.  The governments of Ireland, Scotland and Wales have all previously issued apologies, as have the Salvation Army and the head of the Catholic church in England and Wales.

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Articles / Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters

« Last post by Forgotten Mother on May 04, 2026, 06:42:44 PM »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4glkwww345o

Supreme Court rejects bid to revoke adoption of sisters

Tom Symonds, Amy Walker and Freya Scott-Turner

Published 22 April 2026

A woman has lost an attempt to undo her adoption of two sisters after judges said to do so would go against the long held principle that adoption is "final and permanent".  The woman made clear in her submission that she had not rejected the children, who are now 18 and 19 and have not been named.  She said she brought the case because of their wishes after they resumed contact with their birth mother, who also supported the application at the UK Supreme Court.  Child protection experts were concerned that if the court had ruled in favour of ending the adoption, it would have destabilised the adoption system itself and made it harder to find potential adopters.  The judges said the state should continue to have the power to decide matters of adoption.  "Parens patriae" or "father of the people" powers, existed "to secure a child's protection and safety from serious harm where there is no adequate mechanism available", they said.

The ruling at the UK's highest court, external said adoption should be "permanent and irrevocable" except in rare cases where an adoption decision had been wrongly taken.  The two children, known as X and Y, had made their own decision to move back in with their birth mother.  The court decided that allowing the appeal would have cut across "detailed and comprehensive" laws passed by parliament to protect children.  The local authority supported the application to revoke the adoption order in respect of Y but not X, while the Department for Education (DfE) also lodged a written case arguing that adoption orders could only be revoked in highly exceptional circumstances.  It said that allowing them to be revoked "based simply on welfare" could undermine their permanency.  "It would leave adopters, birth parents and, perhaps most significantly, children in a state of uncertainty," the DfE's written submission said.

"That would inevitably have an impact on the recruitment of prospective adopters and could either make adopters less committed to their adopted children if difficulties arise or conversely less willing to support ongoing contact with birth families as a consequence."

The children's adoptive mother brought the case because of the children's "wishes and feelings" about the breakdown of the adoption, according to written submissions to the court.  She felt they had been forced to live a "legal fiction", despite the fact their "de facto parent" was again their birth mother.  "This is not because [the adoptive mother] has rejected the children. Her appeal is driven by their welfare alone" the submission says.

The girls were adopted in 2012 aged four and five after a period in foster care but later resumed contact with their mother, which was supported by their adoptive mother.  In 2021, they left their adoptive mother and moved to live with their birth mother. One sister later decided to live with her father.  In February 2023, the local authority issued care proceedings on the basis that the girls were "beyond parental control" and conferred parental responsibility on to their birth parents.  In April 2023, the adoptive mother made an application in the High Court seeking revocation of the adoption order.  A judge then found the court had no power to revoke the adoption orders and refused the application, but the judge made orders allowing both girls to change their surnames to that of their birth mother.  Michael Wells-Greco from legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys which specialises in family law, but was not involved in this case said there was "no easy legal solution where an adoption later breaks down" but the Supreme Court has "now made it clear that adoption is meant to be permanent".

He said: "The court also stressed that, in law, an adopted child is treated no differently from a child born to their parents and just as parenthood cannot be undone in those cases, adoption cannot simply be reversed."