Press Releases

International cases come in various types. Child abductions often represent some of the more extreme harms to children’s wellbeing, catastrophically separating them from their other parent, half their extended family and their entire early-life experience. Reasonable estimates using official data indicate that roughly 1000 children are abducted from the U.K. each year. However, many of the families involved in the group have been affected as badly by Leave To Remove decisions gone wrong - usually where a relocating parent initially says they will behave responsibly but cuts off all parenting opportunities with their child for the other parent after they have gone overseas. All members affected by these, and related issues are welcome and encouraged to join the international group. Across all the international cases, FNF members have reported real benefit from sharing in the group and finding that they are not as alone as they had first thought. The group has also become involved with several campaigning initiatives. Several group members’ MPs are set to take forward a debate in Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament raising concerns to government regarding European child abduction problems. All FNF members can help by contacting your MP (https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMPand), telling them that you believe child abduction is an important topic, and asking them to get involved with the child abduction debate. To get involved your MP will need to contact the office of Priti Patel MP to register their interest. It is likely to take place before the end of March. This debate’s focus on child abduction in Europe is prompted by recent action by the European Commission who have commenced a prosecution of a Poland in the European Court of Justice for systematically failing in its legal duty to address child abduction. The nationalist Polish government has a terrible record of illegal interference in the court system to the detriment of abducted children and their foreign fathers (in every Polish case we know of the abductor was the mother). Several members of our group are affected by Polish abduction cases. You may find it instructive to see the Polish government’s official response to the case against them (https://twitter.com/ms_gov_pl/status/1620723493917839360?s=46&t=MuE4NT3NyUX8qmobohB9kw). The Westminster Hall Debate is the fastest moving of several group initiatives. We have families represented affected by international cases spanning all corners of the globe, including for example the USA, India and Japan, in addition to numerous European cases. We expect this to be an active group and will welcome others who join us in the coming months. For more information email joel.lindop.vol@fnf.org.uk