MAA Media Release – 15th October, 2025
For immediate use
Movement for an Adoption Apology meets with Secretary of State for Education
The Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) met with Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, on Tuesday 14th October. The meeting was the culmination of years of campaigning for an apology for the injustice of historic forced adoption practices.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) held an inquiry into this matter in 2021/2022. Their report was published on July 15, 2022. In it they recommended that the government issue an apology and provide reparations, to date this has not been actioned.
During Tuesday’s meeting, MAA representatives were able to raise several important points, including:
– the positive impact of a formal apology for all those affected.
– support measures that would make a difference and the potential scope of reparations.
– the need for research into the impact of these difficult experiences, and
– it is vital that everyone affected is included in future discussions.
This meeting was a very positive first step. MAA representatives expressed cautious optimism that progress is at long last being made towards securing a formal apology and the support measures that campaigners are seeking.
MAA remain hopeful that this meeting signifies the government’s willingness to consider a formal apology bolstered by suitable reparations for all those affected.
The Minister agreed to a further meeting and talks are ongoing.
For further information, please contact:
Diana Defries
maa.adoptionapology@gmail.com
www.movementforanadoptionapology.org
Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public Statement from MAA (Movement for an Adoption Apology) and Members
21/08/2025
We wholeheartedly thank former Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his support and welcome his recent statement urging the UK government to issue a formal apology. This apology is essential for the women whose babies were taken for adoption, the adoptees who lost everything in that moment of separation, and for all those who also suffered during the forced adoption era – from the 1950s to the late 1980s.
Gordon Brown’s acknowledgment of the profound pain and suffering experienced by these women resonates deeply with our ongoing campaign for justice and recognition, and we are immensely grateful for his support.
We have once again reached out to the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, reiterating our request for an urgent meeting to discuss critical issues surrounding historic forced adoptions, including access to and the safeguarding of records. With the government now presented with the opportunity to address this long-standing injustice, it is imperative that they listen to voices like Gordon Brown’s and act swiftly to provide the acknowledgment and movement towards closure that so many women and families need and deserve.
We urge the government to engage with us and take meaningful steps toward issuing a formal apology. This is not only a matter of accountability but also a vital step in the healing process for those affected. The time for action is now, and we are ready to work with the government to ensure that the voices of those impacted are heard and honoured.
Media Release – for immediate use
12 July 2025
Historic Forced Adoption Apology Protest
Furious Survivors of Forced Adoption Demand Accountability and Action from Keir Starmer
Hundreds of campaigners will gather outside Parliament on Wednesday 16 July, from 13:00-14.30, calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to issue an immediate formal apology for the historic injustices of forced adoptions, followed by delivery of a petition to 10 Downing Street at 15.30 (1).
Over 215,000 women, who were forced to give up their babies between 1949 and 1976 — that number could soar to half a million when accounting for those affected into the mid-1980s – want a formal acknowledgment of their suffering, as do the children who were adopted. The UK government has yet to respond to the findings of the 2022 Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), which underscores the urgent need for an apology for historical adoption practices (2).
Many women affected by forced adoption are now elderly, facing the inevitable decline of health and mortality without the recognition and closure that an apology would bring. The cumulative trauma continues to impact their lives, with many unable to find peace or validation.
The Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) highlights a critical need for access to personal records for mothers and adoptees, as well as the protection of these records from loss or destruction. Recent research indicates alarming suicide rates among first mothers and adult adoptees, revealing the urgent necessity for intervention and support services (3).
MAA spokeswoman, Karen Constantine, who was in a mother and baby home in 1978, aged 15, said: “We won’t be silenced or side-lined any longer. It’s time for the Labour Government to uphold the findings of the 2022 JCHR inquiry and engage in meaningful dialogue.”
MAA chair, Diana Defries, said: “These women did not choose to have their babies taken from them. Many were coerced, too young to consent, and left to grieve without support. We demand recognition and closure.”
MAA member Jacqui Adams said: “The government’s slow response to our pleas is frustrating and unacceptable. Other countries (4) have moved forward with apologies and reparations. The UK must do the same to demonstrate its commitment to human rights and social justice.”
— Ends —
Click here to download the Media Release with notes to Editors
Notes to Editors
1. Petition to PM:
Demand an Apology for Forced Adoptions
2. In 2022 the JCHR, Joint Committee on Human Rights Parliamentary Inquiry report: The Violation of Family Life, called on the UK Government to issue a formal apology to all those whose lives had been blighted and to put into place support measures. In 2023, Baroness Harriet Harman, who instigated the Parliament Inquiry stated, “Ultimately, government are in charge of all of these processes, either by what they do, or what they failed to do.”
3. Dr Zubrov’s research shows adoptees, and their first mothers are around 37% more likely to attempt suicide, than those who weren’t subject to forced adoptions.
4. Countries such as Australia and Ireland have made strides in acknowledging their historical injustices through formal apologies and reparations. In Northern Ireland a truth recovery programme is in place, while Scotland and Wales have issued apologies.
Click here to download the Media Release with notes to Editors
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
from Dr. Phil Frampton
April 8th 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
“A Historic Moment for Unmarried Mothers in the UK
We are incredibly proud to announce a monumental step toward recognizing the strength and resilience of unmarried mothers in post-war Britain. Media representatives are invited to join us on Saturday, May 10th, at 12 noon, St Agnes, Cornwall, when we will unveil the country’s first public monument to honour these courageous women—a large slate plaque that will stand as a tribute to their enduring spirit.
For too long, these women in Britain faced unimaginable persecution, simply for becoming pregnant. The government and religious institutions of the time subjected them to cruel treatment, pressuring them to surrender their babies to the adoption market.
This monument serves as a reminder of the suffering they endured, a symbol of healing for those still affected by this tragic chapter in our history.
This plaque, along with another due to be unveiled in Kendal, Cumbria, on May 23rd, marks the true beginning of a long-overdue national movement. It is our hope that these public monuments will help heal the wounds of the millions impacted by this barbaric practice.
The St Agnes plaque will be placed on the exterior boundary wall of Rosemundy House, now a hotel, which was once a “sanctuary” for unmarried mothers. This location holds deep historical significance, as highlighted in the BBC’s award-winning documentary, Crying Shame – watch excerpts here:
https://youtu.be/oa5YzHTmjik?si=yyvo52tvqeCGQf40
Date: Saturday, May 10th
Time: 12 noon
Location: Rosemundy House, St Agnes, Cornwall
The next crucial step is for the new Labour Government to issue a full apology and take restorative actions, such as providing counselling and search support for the mothers and those who were forcibly adopted, as recommended in 2022 by the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.”
Dr Phil Frampton
Rosemundy Commemoration Committee
For media inquiries and additional information, please contact:
Rosemundy Commemoration Committee
phil@philframpton.co.uk
21 February, 2025
Press Release
*** Press Release – for immediate use ***
Movement for an Adoption Apology are delighted to announce that they have secured the services of leading law firm McCue Jury & Partners.
We are reminded everyday of the importance of our fight to secure justice for our members. MAA & McCue Jury & Partners believe we have a strong legal case, and that the government must now answer challenging questions. We know how vitally important a formal apology and reparations are to each and every member of MAA, to every adopted person, and to their extended families.
Following the UK Governments failure to implement the recommendations of the 2022 Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Inquiry into the practice of forced adoption, including its failure to provide any sort of meaningful redress or a formal apology for the abhorrent practices which it oversaw. We have instructed human rights and public interest litigation firm McCue Jury & Partners to explore our legal options.
McCue Jury & Partners are a human rights and public interest litigation firm based in London and Bristol and who have acted on a number of high profile cases related to historic injustices. Including in relation to the Omagh bombing, the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, the BA 149 hostage scandal and the nuclear test veterans.
18th December, 2024
*** Press Release – for immediate use ***
MAA sends support to our sisters in WASPI and urges them to keep fighting for what is right.
In the wake of the news that the government will not financially compensate WASPI women, MAA members, many of whom have been impacted by both state pension changes as well as historic forced adoption practices, stand in full support with WASPI campaigners.
The Ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, recommended that the government provide a flat-rate compensation scheme to pay out £1,000 to £2,950 to each of the more than 3 million women affected, at a cost of £10.5b. She also recommended that the government should apologise and compensate the WASPI women for maladministration and injustice. The government has apologised but offered no compensation.
She continues, “although the government accepts that it delayed writing to 1950s-born women by 28 months, and has apologised, it has rejected paying compensation.” She added, “What we don’t expect is for an acknowledgement to be made by a public body that it’s got it wrong but then refuse to make it right for those affected.”
Speaking on behalf of MAA, Diana Defries says, “It is simply not good enough to issue a limp apology. Sadly, we at MAA understand only too well the sense of injustice that many 1950’s women feel at being let down by the government. We too, the mothers whose children were taken and those children who are now adults, are also due a robust genuine apology and supportive measures, as recommended by the Parliamentary Inquiry in 2022.
We have also been very badly let down.
Serious questions must be asked about how and why the UK government is treating older women with such disrespect.”
For more contact:- maa.adoptionapology@gmail.com
10 December, 2024
*** Press Release – for immediate use ***
“The Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) are very grateful to Dr Michael Lambert and ITV’s Sarah Corker for their vital work, which highlighted recently obtained records that reveal that 197 babies from mother and baby homes are buried in mass burial grounds, across England.
MAA represents the hundreds of thousands of women who had their babies taken from them for forced adoption and the (now adult) adoptees who had everything taken from them in that moment of separation.
Speaking on behalf of their many members, Diana Defries said:
“Now we have proof of the inhumane treatment of vulnerable young women and their babies. It’s unthinkable that Church run homes in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and beyond, disregarded the rights of young mothers and their babies in such a callous way.
Sadly, we at MAA are not surprised. Over the years many women have shared their heart breaking personal experiences with us. Whilst our sympathies are wholeheartedly with families directly connected with these terrible revelations, we believe the government is not only responsible, but negligent.
It is time for the government to come clean. Time to commission research across the range of reported human rights breaches which they are aware of but have chosen to ignore.
We urge the government to uphold the findings of the 2022 Parliamentary Inquiry, and to issue a formal Public Apology to all affected, bolstered by appropriate support measures, without delay, in order to help the women and adoptees who were treated so atrociously.
Experiences from which most will never fully recover.”
— Ends —
