Careful visiting the UK whilst pregnant. They just might take your baby for adoption.

This story in The Telegraph is a step beyond the normal abuses in the family courts (and court of protection). This was a pregnant mother visiting the UK for a training course lasting only two weeks. It ends up with her baby being taken through a forcible caesarean and then placed for adoption for the usual spurious reasons that are used.

Oddly enough last night I had another case of someone who was a foreign mother having her children taken for the system whilst she is deported. This is much like the case from which I highlighted a JR decision earlier this year. Mum was deported and the child kept.

The Italian case is one about which more will be heard. Also the one raised with me last night. The USA case is one which has had some attention.

In essence families count for nothing in the modern family court. The "best interests of the child" are "paramount" which means that what the social workers say goes. If a social worker does not say what the management want then the social worker can be fired as had happened. There is no independence in the system and family ties carry no substantial weight.

I did speak to Michael Gove about this on Wednesday. I do not think that he has this as an objective. It is clearly an unintentional consequence of the government policy of the last 12 years or so. It is, however, a real consequence and has to be brought to an end.

Additionally this video raises questions as to whether powers are being used to undermine demonstrations or appropriately. I am not opposed to fracking (we have use fracking for a long long time) However, I don't think child protection procedures should be used to stop people demonstrating. It is entirely possible that there is an appropriate use of powers, but it is also unlikely.