Law Lords deliver damning judgment against East Sussex

The Court of Appeal has handed down a damning judgment against East Sussex County Council in a case involving a child placed by the Authority for Adoption. The child was placed with prospective adopters only 24 hours before the Father’s application was due to be heard by Brighton Family Court on 30 January. The Father had applied for permission to revoke the Placement Order so that he could be considered as a carer for the child. The effect of the Local Authority’s decision was to deprive the Father of his right to a hearing.

Refusing the Father’s Application but granting him leave to appeal urgently, Her Honour Judge Coates described the Local Authority’s actions as “outrageous” and “sharp practice”. The Law Lords were even more condemnatory. Lord Justice Wall described the behaviour of East Sussex as “disgraceful”, “a travesty of good practice” and “an abuse of power”, adding that their behaviour “is about the worst I have ever encountered in a career now spanning nearly 40 years”. It was clear, he said, that the Local Authority had “quite deliberately set out to prevent the Father from being heard”.

A copy of their Lordships’ Judgment has been ordered to be sent to all Judges who hear adoption cases and every adoption agency in England and Wales so that the “unacceptable” practice followed by East Sussex County Council in this case will not be repeated.

The Father was represented by Stephen Cobb QC and Maria Hancock instructed by Eastbourne Solicitors Lawson Lewis & Co. Their Lordships commented that “the Father’s Solicitors have represented him well and could not have foreseen that East Sussex would abuse their power”. Commenting on the case, the Father’s Solicitor, Barbara Macdonald, said: “Although this case involved a discrete point of law, we knew at once that the human rights implications for other parents caught up in the position of this Father were far-reaching. On that basis alone, we were determined to appeal. Although this Father lost his appeal on the law, we hope this Judgment sends out a stark warning to East Sussex and other adoption agencies who think they can behave in this arrogant fashion in attempting to deprive parents of their right to be heard”.

This story appeared in the National & Local Press and Barbara Macdonald was interviewed on
Radio 4, Southern Counties, Southern FM, Five Live and Radio Wales. Barbara was also interviewed by the: Daily Mail, Daily Express, Brighton Argus, Jordans and Law Society Gazette.

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