After
Angela Cannings’ conviction for killing her three children was
overturned, it prompted a review of 258 cases where parents were sent
to jail for murdering their children. However there are still 5,000
British children who have been taken into care or adopted because
their parents were accused of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP).
Ms Cannings’ conviction was based on the theory of Dr. Roy Meadows,
who testified that she was suffering from MSbP, a psychiatric
condition where mothers harm their children in order to gain
attention.
The theory and the doctor who proposed it have now been discredited
but for those parents whose children were forcibly adopted, this is
tantamount to a life sentence.
The Solicitor General, Harriet Harmen MP,
highlighted the issue in a statement to Parliament in January last
year:
"We will make sure that we recognise that not
only injustices done in the criminal justice system but any potential
injustices in care proceedings are identified and acted on. We bear in
mind the absolute, utmost gravity and seriousness of those whose
injustice is not in the hands of the criminal justice system but as a
result of the family justice system."
Ben with his mum
Ben suffers from a
congenital defect that affected his breathing. His mum was wrongly
accused of MSbP and he was taken into care. Now reunited with Ben, his
mum is pursuing a civil claim for damages.
The
then Minister for Children, Margaret Hodge MP, said that she will be
writing to social services across the country to ask them to consider
those cases where children were taken into care but the medical
evidence was contested.
"If that is so... they should then consider
whether to apply to the court for the care order to be discharged or
whether to support any application that may be made by the parents or
the child."
However if children have already been adopted
it is unlikely that the adoption order will be reversed except in the
most exceptional circumstances.
In a recent case at the Court of Appeal
supported an NHS trust that had wrongly accused a parent of having
MSbP. They argued that they do not owe a duty of care to the parent
where child care decisions have been taken, because these will always
conflict with the interests of the child.
But if the UK courts will not recognise the rights
of the parent, the European Court of Human Rights will. A recent case
brought by Leigh Day & Co showed that if an NHS trust or local authority
has disregarded the interests and rights of the parents, they can find
some redress in the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Strasbourg Courts.
Failings of Social
Services
Social services were warned against excessive
reliance on expert’s opinion following the Cleveland child abuse scandal.
The Butler Sloss’ report (1987) stated that social workers should not act
solely on the basis of medical diagnoses and that a full investigation and
social assessment should be carried out.
Yet local authorities have continued to follow the
dubious diagnostic techniques of experts such as Roy Meadow without
looking for further corroborative evidence. Existing or potential
diagnoses such as Autism or ADHD and fail to take into account other
potential causes of illness or death such as birth injury, or adverse
reactions to vaccines or drugs.
The Next Step
It is of great concern that lessons learned from
the Cleveland,
Rochdale and Orkney scandals have been completely ignored.
In light of the Butler Sloss recommendations, it is
vital that those cases where a child has been put into care or adopted on
the basis of an allegation that the parent suffered from MSbP, are
reviewed. The parents should be given the chance to clear their names and
be reunited with their children.
We are now calling for a full public enquiry into
why this fiasco happened in the first place.
The role of the courts in
the future
All attempts must be made to reunite families.
The court must also recognise the devastating
effect forced separation will have on the development of the child and the
tremendous and debilitating grief and anxiety it will cause to the
parents. Far from suffering from MSbP parents are often diagnosed as
suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the
allegations.
Compensation should be due to both parent and child
for the harm and loss they have suffered. However, as the law stands, a
parent cannot bring the medical expert or local authority to account for
the stress and anxiety caused by their indiscriminate allegations of MSbP.
If the government does not fully address the
injustices suffered at the hands of the family justice system, it will
need to prepare itself for a barrage of claims that British families’
human rights have been violated.
Bozena Michalowska Howells is a partner at Leigh Day & Co specialising
in complex claims and group actions. If you have been affected by these
issues and think you may have a claim, please call her on 020 7650 1238.
