Social workers forced to return twin babies to their parents (Thanks to a FAIR Judge)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 10:1511
Social workers forced to return twin babies to their parents
CITY social workers have been ordered to return twin baby boys to their parents after a judge ruled they should not have been taken away.

The boys were taken from their mother in hospital soon after their premature birth.

A Nottingham County Court judge made an interim care order in favour of Nottingham City Council authorising their transfer to temporary foster care.

But top family judge Lord Justice Thorpe said the move was unjustified.


He said there had been "no welfare concerns" brought up about the parents' ability to raise the boys "on a day-to-day basis".

And he said the reasons given for separating the twins from their parents "do not begin to meet the high threshold set by the authorities of this court".

Lord Justice Thorpe was sitting at London's Appeal Court with the President of the Family Division, Sir Nicholas Wall, and Mr Justice Hedley.

He said the county court judge had focused on the risk of the boys suffering "emotional harm" in their parents' care.

He said there were "historic" concerns about the parents' care of their older children, they had both striven to prove their parental skills and there was "no doubt as to their ability to care for the twins on a day-to-day basis".

The ruling means the boys must be returned to their parents as soon as practically possible, although a court hearing set for the autumn will decide their long-term future.

With the help of expert parental counselling, the couple hope to prove their long-term ability to raise their boys - who were born prematurely but are now in good health.

The ruling prompted loud sighs of relief from mother and father - both in their 20s - who later hugged their lawyers in gratitude.

The father said he was overjoyed by the court's decision, declaring himself "sick with relief".

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Social-workers-forced-return-twin-babies-parents/article-2313851-detail/article.html