Couple told they cannot have their children back after being wrongfully accused of abuse to take court battle to Europe
By TOM KELLY
Last updated at 3:54 PM on 12th February 2009


A couple forced to give up three children for adoption despite a judge ruling they may have been wrongly accused of abuse yesterday vowed to take their legal fight to Europe.

Mark and Nicky Webster said they will never give up the battle to win back their daughter and two sons after the Appeal Court ruled this week that it was 'too late' for the family to be reunited.

The couple have not seen the children, now aged nine, seven and five, since they were put up for adoption four years ago.

Mrs Webster, from Cromer in Norfolk, said: 'We promised right from the very beginning that we were going to fight on no matter what.

'That has not changed, despite all the disappointments we have suffered.

'We need to discuss with our lawyers exactly where we stand but we will do whatever we can.

'If that means going to House of Lords or all the way to the European courts then that's what we will do.

'I've never stopped thinking about my children and I never will.'

The couple's nightmare started in October 2003 when Mrs Webster took their second son to hospital with a swollen leg.

He was found to have a number of small fractures which doctors said could be caused only by physical abuse.

The following year they were permanently removed and put up for adoption after a one-day court hearing.

Medical experts later concluded that the injuries were not caused by violent twisting and shaking, but were symptoms of rare case of scurvy.

Mr Webster, 35, and his 27-year-old wife fled to Ireland in 2006 to stop their fourth child, Brandon, being taken into care at birth.

The Appeal Court ruled on Wednesday that even though the Websters 'may well' have been victims of a miscarriage of justice the adoption order on their eldest three children could not be revoked because the youngsters are now settled with their adoptive parents.

Mrs Webster, who is pregnant with a fifth child due in April, said: 'The judgement has left a lot of unanswered questions.

'On the one hand they are saying it's in our favour and they fully understand why we're doing what we're doing.

'But on the other hand they're saying they can't help us.

'I'm also disappointed that they haven't cleared our names.

'The judges only skimmed the surface. They haven't dug deeper.

'You see cases on the news about people harming their children. It's beyond belief that we were put in a similar pigeon hole to that.'

Helen Broughton, an adoption law specialist from Morecrofts Solicitors, said the case highlighted the 'chronic weaknesses' in the Family Justice System.

'A tragic situation like this has almost certainly happened before and sadly it will very likely happen again,' she said.

'There is a serious shortage of resources. Medical experts are expensive and courts are only required to provide one for each adoption case, which allows no room for error.

'Had there been a second medical opinion when concerns were first raised about this couple this whole very sad situation would almost certainly have been avoided.'

But she warned that the Websters would face a very tough battle to overturn the adoption order in either the House of Lords or the European Court of Justice.

'The courts may rule that they have been wronged, but they are extremely unlikely to reverse the adoption order, because in almost all cases adoption is final.'

Link is here.

I think this is disgusting. Our social services never get it right.

"Our social services never get it right."

^^ Never is a bit extreme.
Transit is right, we may not know all of the information.
If they have been falsely accused then yes, it's horrible. But they may be more to it.
There are many many many things that Social Services DO get right.
It's just a sad fact that the majority of media interest in Social Services is negative.

Hmm my boyfriend's mom has just quit her job in social services since she found God and is in minister training.
The stories I've heard...

Yeah I'm sure there are plenty of bad stories around..
I just think it's a shame that ALL Social Workers seem to get such bad press.
Which authority did your boyfriends mum work for?

Herefordshire. She was involved in that case where the young girl is refusing a heart transplant.
But apparently the mom has Munchausen's... interesting what the press don't report! You didn't hear that from me though...

But of course, the media are never going to report on what GOOD social services have done. They like doom and gloom, dammit!

I've not heard that case but have heard many similar.
I know the media is never good, just depressing! Yay. Must make Social Workers work so darned hard though.

The children never should have been able to be adopted in the first place. While it is sad for the adoptive parents, the biological parent should have their children returned to them if it has been found they've done nothing wrong. Why should they be punished for the court's mistake? Yes, I know that it will punish the adoptive parents, but being that they ADOPTED, they should realize things like this can happen. Is it fair? No, but it's much more unfair to take children away from biological parents when they've not done something wrongful.

While I understand that the biological parents may not have done anything wrong, neither have the adoptive parents or the children. Why not give the children back to the biological parents and give visitation to the adoptive parents?

Being and social worker for the government (specialising in adoptions), and a adoptive parent I find the comments interesting. Yes, an injustice may have occurred (the ruling states that they may have been wrongly accused) but it isn't known for sure. By revoking orders today that occurred years ago due to 'potentials or if the parent cleaned up their act' and demanding children to be returned to biological parents will open pandora's box. Children deserve permanency and if it is deemed by the courts (social workers do NOT make the final decision the COURT’S do) that the children cannot return to their biological parent and their parental rights are severed then we look for adoptive matches (barriers do prohibit this depending on the child’s ethnicity and your countries laws). Can you imagine being a child growing up in foster care? never again having a family that loves you! on the off chance (I have never heard of a situation like this before) that every professional to touch a case was wrong? WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? For all of you laying judgement you have no clue about the system that I work in and you never will until you are an active participant. It is just not one person who makes a decision it is an entire team of trained professionals that do and the ultimate decision is made by a judge. The system has its faults absolutely, but the end result for most children is their lives have been saved and maybe just maybe they might have a future.

exactly.. what about the children

They may of not physically inflicted those injuries, but to feed your children so badly that one has fractures due to scurvy is just as bad.

Ahh but the rest didn't suffer from it, perhaps this 'rare form' is not influenced by food. Maybe the kid's body doesn't absorb enough nutrients. I am sure there are many important factors not brought up in this article.

I mean the judge hasn't brought up the case of bad diet in his judgement, which says to me that it wasn't a factor.

Well none of us know exactly what the Judge has brought up, as being the family court it is at the famillies discretion to release that information, which they haven't.

There was a tv program a few years back, can't really remember it though.

These are the symptoms that can occur with a vit c deficiency, Bleeding gums, depression, easy bruising, impaired wound healing, irritability, joint pains, loose teeth, malaise, tiredness.

This case is always on This Morning, yo. It's very sad, yo! Like, nothing right can happen from now on, because whatever the outcome, someone will end up deprived of their children. Either the real parents, or the parents who adopted those babies rightfully believing they would be theirs for life.

Gosh, I haven't seen This Morning since about the last time I was off ill in primary school. Now I rarely surface before noon.
The Schofe is such a legend.

I know if I had adopted children, I'd want them to be happy.
I don't think anything would make a kid happier than being with his brothers and sisters, and having their family together.

/shrug

It's a tough call though. If those kids have been in those homes for four/five years, then chances are they don't remember their home/family from before. They might have adoptive brothers/sisters that they view as brothers/sisters now. It's impossible for any of us to sit here and say what is best for the children in question because we do not know them or their circumstances. All we know is that whatever happens from now on, people will get hurt.

But one of those children was a year old when adopted, for them it wouldn't be beneficial at all to be removed from the adoptive parents and put with strangers.

I agree with the lovely Transit and Ryan.

I agree with Jessica.

In all the Social Work classes I've taken they talk about the importance of repairing families and keeping families together whenever possible and blah blah blah...maybe that kind of attitude needs to be implemented where this is taking place. I cannot imagine the pain of being wrongly accused of abuse and then pretty much being told 'tough shit, still can't have them back'. Sad.

thats so sad!

and to think.. that couple/family that adopted these kids could've adopted a truly needy child or children.

I always thought children couldn't be adopted out if their parents were living UNLESS there was bonafide PROOF that they were abused. Like absolute medical evidence or something.