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Downing Street is to make a full apology on behalf of the state to those affected by historical forced adoption in England, the education secretary has confirmed.
Bridget Phillipson, giving evidence to MPs on the education select committee on Wednesday, described it as a “shameful period” in UK history.
She said the prime minister would have more to say, but told MPs that all those whose lives had been affected by forced adoption would get the apology they “so profoundly deserve”.
Phillipson’s remarks followed an earlier report from the committee that said a formal and public apology was essential to correct the public record and reduce the burdens felt by many mothers and adoptees.
It urged ministers to provide an initial commitment to an apology and begin working with survivor groups as quickly as possible on its wording.
In her opening remarks to MPs, Phillipson said: “I know that you and the committee will want to hear that this government will very soon be making a full apology on behalf of the state to all of those affected by historic forced adoption in England.
“The prime minister will have more to say on this shameful period in our history, reflecting the gravity of what has happened. But here and now, let me say to all of those affected, you will get the apology that you so profoundly deserve.”
Between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers and placed for adoption in England and Wales as a result of a culture of shame surrounding pregnancy outside marriage.
Religious organisations ran most of the mother and baby homes where pregnant women were sent to give birth. Charities and local authorities were involved in funding the placements and finding adoptive parents.
The Welsh and Scottish governments formally apologised for forced adoption practices in 2023, and the head of the Catholic church in England and Wales issued an apology in 2016.
Ireland and Australia have introduced financial compensation schemes after apologising for the coerced removal of children from unmarried mothers.
Campaigners who have worked for decades to shine a light on the injustice of forced adoptions welcomed the government’s promise of a full apology and called for support for those who have suffered as result.
Sally Ells, one of the co-founders of the Adult Adoptee Movement, said: “We hope the apology is going to be meaningful and provide redress for all survivors. There have been lifelong impacts for all of us. The adoptees had their identities erased. We had our medical and family history removed.
“We had no safeguarding after we were adopted. There is a significant number of adoptees who suffered bad treatment in their adoptive families. We’ve asked for dedicated mental health support and improved access to adoption records.
“We’ve also asked for adult adoptees to be involved in future policymaking in adoption, because we’ve lived it. We know what the pitfalls are.”
Diana Defries, the chair of the Movement for an Adoption Apology, said: “Any apology has to have the right structure. It’s about taking responsibility, acknowledging harm and being willing to do something about it.”
Defries, who was 16 when her daughter was forcibly adopted, added: “No amount of money will fix what happened to me and the mess I was left in afterwards.” She called instead for money to be invested in support services.
Emily Frith, the chief executive of Adoption UK, added: “This acknowledgment is long overdue and follows years of campaigning by those affected. But an apology without action is not enough. Adult adoptees continue to face barriers to accessing therapy, tracing birth relatives and obtaining birth and medical records.
“The government must now turn words into action through meaningful redress, clear ministerial accountability and a commitment to involving adoptees in shaping the policies that affect them.”
A report by the UK government’s joint committee on human rights in 2022 recommended ministers apologise to unmarried women who were “railroaded” into unwanted adoptions.
Responding to the report, the then-Conservative government said it was sorry “on behalf of society” for the way the women had been treated, but did not think a formal apology appropriate “since the state did not actively support these practices”.
