The time for silence has passed. On August 21, ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly backed the campaign calling for an official apology regarding the dark and hidden history of forced adoptions in the UK.
This welcome intervention has reignited the urgent discussion surrounding the traumatic legacy of the so-called ‘baby scoop era’ during which, between 1949 and 1976, over 215,000 infants were taken from their mothers. Taken, not given. The practice continued until the 1980s and the true figure of children who were commodified for forced adoption is likely to be half a million or more. The long-held narrative that adoption was in the best interest of these children and their mothers has now been irrevocably shattered.
The truth is harsh. It was neither beneficial for the mothers nor the children; it was human trafficking, which resulted in trauma and provided handsome profits for the religious institutions that established an almost inescapable network.
Women and girls were coerced into relinquishing their babies simply because they were unmarried and young. Society manufactured shame at an industrial-scale to justify these actions, creating a folk demon of the unwed mother, a fate to be avoided at all costs. Many, if not most, religious organisations in the UK played a role in operating euphemistically named ‘mother and baby homes,’ where vulnerable women were charged fees to hide away in substandard conditions. Isolated from family and friends, employment and education often terminated, they lived in dormitory-style arrangements, forced into hard physical labor during their pregnancies, often subjected to further abuse from predatory men, and denied pain relief during childbirth. After giving birth, they were discarded like unwanted goods, while their newborns were sold to families willing to make a handsome donation for a child. The mothers were systematically deceived, led to believe that rigorous checks were in place to ensure the best adoption matches for their babies. In reality, it was a lottery; social services turned a blind eye, which is precisely why the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) is also demanding a formal apology.
In 2020, MP Harriet Harman initiated a Joint Commission on Human Rights (JCHR) to investigate these historic forced adoption practices. The inquiry, which framed its findings around the Adoption Acts of 1949 and 1976, concluded in July 2022 that the government must issue a formal apology and provide reparations. Yet, despite ongoing efforts from various campaigns advocating for this apology, the government has remained largely unresponsive.
The Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) and others have tirelessly sought to engage government officials, sending detailed letters outlining the profound difficulties and trauma faced by unmarried mothers during this era and to this day. They have called for research and action on the increased suicide risks revealed by recent studies, the devastating separation of families, and the urgent need for trauma-informed support for those subjected to these abhorrent practices. They have also alerted the government to the intergenerational risks of Diethylstilbestrol (DES), which can cause reproductive changes and diseases in both mothers and their children, and emphasised the pressing need for adopted individuals to access their biologically relevant medical history.
The Labour government’s response to date has mirrored the previous Conservative administration’s lacklustre approach, characterised by stonewalling and prevarication. Labour ministers Janet Daby and Bridget Phillipson have offered nothing more than hollow acknowledgments that such events occurred, with a deplorable lack of engagement with the substantive issues raised. Many assumed that an incoming Labour government would honour the parliamentary inquiry it instigated. Sadly that’s not been the case.
Now, with Gordon Brown’s involvement pushing this issue into the spotlight, there is renewed hope that the government may finally be compelled to act. Brown is calling for a full formal apology. Meanwhile, ITV’s investigative journalist Sarah Coker continues to shed light on the ongoing tragedy, including reports of baby deaths in mother and baby homes, which underscore the urgent need for accountability. Gordon Brown has stated that further investigations will happen as needed. The unmarked graves associated with mother and baby homes across the UK, notably St. Monica’s in Kendal, the Hopedene Maternity Home in Newcastle, and St. Pelagia’s in Highgate, North London, signal an urgent need for robust investigations.
The weight of the evidence is compelling, and the time for action is now. We cannot accept further half-hearted statements from Labour ministers, nor any more buck passing or avoidance tactics; the government must confront its past and acknowledge the pain inflicted on thousands of mothers and their children. Only through truth and reconciliation can those who experienced this modern-day horror begin to heal the wounds of this dark chapter in our history. The women, their children, and all the victims of this dreadful practice demand nothing less.
P.S.: Compass Director Neal has a half brother hopefully still alive and thriving somewhere who was taken from their mum in the 1950s. The state can be beautiful and caring and it can be harsh and hurtful. We need a state that can say sorry when it it the latter.
Karen Constantine was Kent County Councillor for Ramsgate and Kent Labour group deputy leader until May 2025, as well as a political writer and commentator.