I refer to the report entitled ‘Twins were needlessly split up’ in the Hereford Times of December 13 about a High Court judge damning the council.

I can quite believe that the council’s children’s social workers “misled” as I and others have personal experience of this and their poor judgement.

They split up the twins to make it easier for them to be adopted and hence no longer their responsibility.

However, others share responsibility: including the council’s lawyers, health care professionals, the twins’ court-appointed guardian(s) and their solicitors (even though too young to give instructions) and the county court judges.

How could professionals have judged it was in the twins’ “best interests” to separate them?

Judges, Guardians etc tend to believe social workers and rarely eg birth parents.

Professionals seldom challenge the opinion/judgement of other professionals.

Family courts are secretive and therefore, for example, do not have the scrutiny of journalists and juries. Matters (eg adoption ie permanent separation of children from their birth families) are decided just on the balance of probabilities by usually case-hardened county court judges.

Also few parents have the financial and social resources to challenge the council.

For example, most birth parents rely on limited Legal Aid with only their lawyer for professional support.

I assume that one or both the adopters of the twins had the money, time and fortitude to take the matter up to the High Court – very few people would.

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