http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4375064.ece
Times wins ruling over secrecy of family court
July 22, 2008
Rosemary Bennett, Social Affairs Correspondent
Details of private family court proceedings that led to a mother
fleeing the country with her son after he was placed in foster care
have been disclosed after legal action by The Times.
The highly unusual ruling allows the publication of undisclosed
details of the case. The boy’s stepfather was sent to prison for 16
months for helping the mother to remove him from care and flee abroad.
She has since had another baby, the couple’s first child. The
stepfather has been released from prison but is forbidden to contact
his wife.
The Times fought to publish more information after an outcry from
readers when the case was reported by Camilla Cavendish . She
highlighted the perceived secrecy of family courts and the lack of
scrutiny of social workers, who have sweeping powers to remove
children from their parents. Times readers were particularly outraged
that the stepfather served a longer sentence than many muggers.
