Tower Hamlets Council wins court fight for baby of Romanian sex worker to be adopted in the UK
The baby can now be adopted in the UK (Stock pic PA) - Credit: PA ARCHIVE IMAGES
Tower Hamlets Council has won a court battle to allow the baby son of a sex worker from Romania to be placed for adoption in the UK.
The mother had given birth at a London hospital and told staff that she could not care for him and wanted him to be adopted in Britain before she returned to Romania.
However, Romanian authorities were against the little boy being adopted in Britain and had said his legal ties to his birth family should not be severed.
But today Judge Carol Atkinson has concluded that the little boy, now about six months old, needs stability and security.
Judge Atkinson decided that adoption in the UK would offer the youngster “enormous advantages in life”.
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Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling following a family court hearing in London.
She said social services bosses at Tower Hamlets Council had welfare responsibilities for the youngster and had asked her to make decisions about his future.
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“I do not consider that the Romanian courts would be better placed to hear the case,” said Judge Atkinson.
“Overwhelmingly, (he) needs stability and security. He needs carers who will claim him and provide him with the permanence needed to enable him to fulfil his potential.”
Both his mother and grandmother wanted him to be cared for by a family in Britain, the judge said.
“This is not necessarily reflective of a lack of desire to develop a relationship with him at some point in the future should he chose to seek them out,” she added.
“They may feel that they cannot give him the start in life that a family could give him here in which case their decision is a selfless one, not a selfish one.”
The judge said no relatives had offered themselves as carers and she said there were “limited realistic options”.
She went on: “I consider that adoption ... offers this child enormous advantages in life.”
The judge did not identify the boy or his mother.
