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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has formally apologised for the forced adoption of an estimated 185,000 babies born to unmarried mothers in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976, describing the practice as “a stain on our history.”
Addressing Parliament on Thursday, Starmer acknowledged the suffering of thousands of women, many of them teenagers, who were pressured by families, social services and institutions into giving up their children for adoption.
“We are deeply and profoundly sorry to the mothers who were told they were unfit, who were prevented from caring for the children they desperately wanted and who have carried this loss for decades,” Starmer said.
“The shame is not yours. The shame was never yours. The shame is ours.”
The prime minister also paid tribute to survivors who had campaigned for years to secure an official apology, praising their courage in sharing their experiences.
The apology comes four years after a parliamentary committee recommended that the UK government formally acknowledge its role in the historic injustice.
Speaking after meeting survivors at Downing Street, Starmer said the forced removal of children had been enabled by systems funded and legitimised by the state.
“Mothers, many of them young, vulnerable and without support, were coerced, bullied or misled into believing they had no choice but to surrender their babies,” he said.
He added that the practice had become embedded across local authorities, voluntary and faith-based organisations, as well as health and social care services.
“The state bears responsibility for the systems it funded and legitimised, which enabled these practices to occur. For this systemic failure, I am truly sorry,” he said.
A parliamentary inquiry found that many mothers suffered severe physical and psychological abuse. Some women were deliberately denied pain relief during childbirth as punishment, while others had their newborn babies taken from them immediately after delivery.
One survivor recalled being asked by a doctor during labour, “Have you learnt your lesson now?” Another said she was told she should be sterilised because she was “a nymphomaniac.”
The apology follows a similar statement issued by the Church of England last month, when Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally expressed regret for the Church’s role in the forced adoption system and apologised for the “pain, trauma and stigma” inflicted on affected families.
Australia issued a national apology for forced adoptions in 2013, while Ireland followed with a formal apology in 2021. Separate apologies have also been delivered by the governments of Wales and Scotland, with Northern Ireland expected to do the same after the completion of a public inquiry.