Bernard Limbrey in reported High Court case
26/09/2021
Bernard Limbrey represented the Respondent Mother in the High Court, in a case where the Local Authority sought to deny her direct contact with her new-born child.
Inflicted injuries – 34(4) Children Act 1989 – Flight Risk
London Borough of Croydon and S [2021] EWHC 2521 (Fam)
The case relates to the newborn baby, X, of Afghan parents of five children ranging in age from 6 to 20 months. The second eldest child, E, had sustained many serious non-accidental inflicted injuries which, in October 2019, HHJ Atkins held were caused by one of the parents. The mother did not accept the findings. All five children were made subject to placement for adoption orders in March 2020.
In August 2020 the father abducted the three eldest children at knifepoint from local authority foster care. They are all now presumed to be in Afghanistan.
In March 2021, the mother, then 37 weeks pregnant, boarded a plane to Kabul on a one-way ticket purchased by her brother. She was removed from the plane.
Child X was born in hospital on 13 April 2021. The mother’s brother demanded to see the mother but was denied entry to the hospital due to Covid restrictions. A large contingent of Afghan people subsequently gathered outside the hospital. The Police were concerned about X’s safety and removed him into foster care.
Mr Justice Holman considered the relevant statutes and case law and undertook the necessary balance of harm exercise, noting that the separation of a new-born baby from its mother is a draconian step. He applied s1(1) of the Children Act 1989, taking into account s1(3) and having regard to s34 and s38 as well as the Article 6 and 8 rights of the mother and X
Holman J noted that the mother was a flight risk, that she did not accept the findings of HHJ Atkins. An interim care order was made, and the plan of continued separation approved as necessary and proportionate. Direct contact with X was refused to the mother pursuant to S34(4) of the Children Act 1989, but she was permitted to have remote contact.
Link to Judgment