Panorama.S2014E01.I.Want.My.Baby.Back
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00:00These parents have all lost their children because they've been condemned as child abusers,
00:07but they say they're innocent.
00:11Did you ever harm your baby girl?
00:14No. No, I'd never harm her.
00:17Their babies were taken after tiny fractures were spotted on X-rays.
00:22Doctors say they're evidence of abuse.
00:25It's a case of, well, if you didn't do it, your partner must have done,
00:28and you must have known your partner did because you were in the house at the time.
00:32The authorities are on high alert after missing shocking cases
00:36like Baby P and Daniel Pelker.
00:39But are they now going too far?
00:42Is it possible that parents have lost their children for good by mistake?
00:46Of course it's possible.
00:48One campaigning MP even says parents should flee the country
00:52rather than face justice in our family courts.
00:56Because people don't face a fair trial here,
00:58my advice to people, if they can afford it, is to go abroad.
01:01Some have done that, and now their mum's on the run.
01:05Sometimes I think, I wish I didn't have to live like this,
01:08but I wouldn't give up Loic for the world.
01:11Others have stayed and seen their lives destroyed.
01:18He's got family here that love and adore him,
01:21that have never done a thing wrong to him,
01:24and yet we're being torn apart.
01:29But the fractures could have other causes,
01:32including a disease we thought we'd beaten long ago.
01:36Some parents have proved their innocence and had their children returned.
01:40It was like a nightmare that you don't ever seem to be able to wake up from.
01:44So are medical mistakes and a flawed child protection system
01:48shattering innocent lives?
01:51I couldn't believe that this actually still happened in England.
01:56I didn't think it could happen in England.
02:07In April 2012, Jill McCartan gave birth to a son.
02:12Your mummy's a beautiful boy.
02:15It should have been a happy occasion, but there wasn't much to celebrate.
02:22Now he's here, we don't know what's going to happen.
02:27I had to give them my passport and everything over
02:29so they'd let me leave the hospital.
02:32But everything seems all right so far.
02:34Haven't heard anything from social services yet,
02:38but it's just a waiting game, really, at the minute.
02:46Jill is a fugitive.
02:48Her son Loic was born hundreds of miles from home in a remote part of Spain.
02:54British social services have been searching for him from birth.
03:04Her husband John had to travel in secret from England
03:07to visit his new baby boy.
03:19Social workers tried everything,
03:21even contacting Interpol to try and track Jill down.
03:26I had a phone call from my aunt yesterday.
03:29Apparently social services have been round her house searching for her.
03:34Also found out that they've been to my parents' house snooping around,
03:38trying to find out where they are.
03:40But, well, we're just basically waiting to see now
03:44what they're going to do next.
03:49Social services don't trust John and Jill as parents.
03:53They think they are child abusers.
04:06It's June 2012 and I'm on my way to meet Jill.
04:11I've been given directions to go to a town about two hours from here.
04:15Once there, sit tight and wait for further instructions.
04:19I don't know where Jill and Loic are living right now.
04:22That's a necessary precaution.
04:28Jill's called me with directions to a safe house.
04:31It's not where she lives.
04:34Her parents, Debbie and Gareth, are here helping her.
04:38Jill's enjoying getting to know her son, but she never feels secure.
04:47I never imagined my life being like this at all.
04:50It's hard having to leave the country that you've...
04:53..that you've been living in for so many years.
04:56It's hard.
04:58It's hard.
05:00It's hard having to leave the country that you've grown up in.
05:04I didn't really want to leave,
05:06but I wasn't going to have my second baby taken by them,
05:12by social services.
05:14Jill's first child, Alyssa, was taken into care in May 2010.
05:19She was just ten weeks old.
05:22The family's problems started when they noticed a swelling
05:25on Alyssa's arm and took her to the GP.
05:29The doctor checked her over, said that she didn't seem in any pain,
05:34but she referred me to the hospital.
05:40They sent us for X-rays and said that Alyssa had a fracture to her arm
05:46and asked me how it happened.
05:53Further X-rays found three more fractures,
05:56one on each leg and one on her ribs.
05:59Jill couldn't explain them, so doctors thought Alyssa had been abused.
06:08Did you ever harm your baby girl?
06:10No. No, I'd never harm her.
06:13Did you ever see John harm your baby girl?
06:16No.
06:18If I'd seen John do anything with Alyssa to harm her in any way
06:23or distress her, then I wouldn't have wanted him to be around her.
06:27I wouldn't have let him be around her.
06:31Doctors called in social workers from Wokingham Borough Council
06:35and Alyssa was taken into care,
06:37even though Jill's mum offered to look after the baby.
06:41I wasn't given that option.
06:43I was told no.
06:46It's because I would not say that my daughter had harmed her daughter.
06:52Because I know she couldn't.
06:57So if parents are worried their child is hurt, they do the right thing,
07:01they bring the child to hospital.
07:03But if they can't explain fractures on an X-ray,
07:06they're suspected of abuse and may have to leave without their child.
07:10They've now entered the world of child protection.
07:23Sarah and Paul Ashley's son was taken into care in 2009
07:28when he was a few weeks old.
07:31He's a good-looking boy.
07:33Is that you?
07:37Their problems started when they noticed
07:40their baby's right leg was swollen.
07:42We just thought there was something wrong with our little boy
07:45and we did what any normal parent would do, take him to the hospital.
07:50But X-rays showed multiple fractures to the baby's legs and ribs.
07:55When Sarah and Paul couldn't explain them, doctors assumed the worst.
08:01Social workers took their baby away.
08:05Having to go from being a mum and being there constantly for him
08:10to then being told I can't hold him or be with him was just horrendous.
08:16We were told that he wasn't coming home with us,
08:19so we knew that whenever he left the hospital, it wouldn't be with us.
08:24It would be with someone else.
08:27But, um...
08:32It was difficult. Yeah.
08:37Everyone agrees that protecting children from abuse
08:40is critically important.
08:42Local authorities have a duty to investigate suspected cases
08:46and put the welfare of the child first.
08:49They know that failing to take children into care
08:52can have devastating consequences.
08:55Social workers have come under massive pressure in the past
08:59when they've missed terrible cases of child abuse, like Baby P.
09:03But in his fear of getting it wrong, leading to the opposite mistake,
09:08some parents accused of child abuse may be innocent.
09:15Since Baby P, the number of care cases has risen dramatically.
09:20The last annual figures show more than 10,000 care applications,
09:24a record high.
09:28Authorities say more children are being protected.
09:33We can't play poker with children.
09:36We can't play poker with children's safety.
09:39We've got to have a system that plays safe to begin with,
09:43does the work properly to assess the level of risk.
09:46If we've got it wrong, we have to show the evidence to do that
09:50and to return a child home safely.
09:53But too many children, historically,
09:55have suffered serious harm again back at home.
10:00Parents' rights are not the priority in care cases.
10:05You have to look at the responsibilities of a local authority.
10:08It's got a duty to protect children in its area.
10:11It also has a great big establishment,
10:14which it can use to help that to happen.
10:17Social workers, its own lawyers,
10:19significant resources compared to parents.
10:22And so it can seem to parents
10:25as if there's this great juggernaut rolling over them.
10:29HE WHISPERS
10:32Sarah and Paul's son has been in foster care for four years.
10:36He's had three different foster families.
10:40So this is his room for when he comes home.
10:44They haven't given up on getting him back.
10:47His favourite tigger bless him.
10:50The battery's nearly dying, but he loved pressing that.
10:55They've searched desperately
10:57for any innocent explanation for his injuries.
11:00But so far they haven't found one
11:02that convinces the experts or authorities.
11:09You say you didn't cause his injuries.
11:12Is that true?
11:14We never caused his injuries.
11:16I didn't and Sarah didn't.
11:18We know each other much better than that.
11:20There has to be a medical explanation for it.
11:23You don't know, though, do you? You don't know.
11:25No, we don't.
11:27We're not medical experts, but it doesn't add up, does it?
11:31It just doesn't add up at all.
11:33You don't go from being a good person one day
11:36to be a really bad person the other day.
11:41Paul and Sarah can't explain the cause of the fractures,
11:45so they can't be a mum and dad.
11:48Bone fractures sound simple and straightforward, but they're not.
11:53When you think of a fracture, you think of a clean break.
11:57But in these cases, many of the fractures are not like that at all.
12:04They're tiny cracks which are often very difficult to detect.
12:08On this X-ray, they're here.
12:11Unless parents can explain the cause,
12:15doctors almost always take fractures as evidence of abuse.
12:19And the reason for that, as far as I can see,
12:22is that it's difficult to find other causes quite a lot of the time.
12:28Most fractures in children occur as a result of physical trauma,
12:33usually as a result of them falling over
12:36and hurting themselves when they're older.
12:39To get multiple fractures as an infant,
12:43where's that physical trauma come from is a reasonable question.
12:52Lisa's another parent who was asked that question.
12:55She'd heard a strange clicking noise from her baby's chest,
12:59but when X-rays showed fractures, her days as a mother were numbered.
13:05I didn't know what was going to happen.
13:09I was totally unprepared for it.
13:12And it's obviously turned my world upside down.
13:17Lisa brought me to the hospital where social workers took her baby.
13:22What was it like the moment you left?
13:25Heartbreaking.
13:27To leave my son on the bed and walk away while the foster care
13:32and the social worker picked him up and left with him.
13:43Now Lisa sees her child just twice a year.
13:49Did you harm your baby?
13:51No.
13:53You would say that, though, wouldn't you?
13:56Definitely not. I wouldn't be going through this now.
13:59Just to save face, just to, you know, cover it up.
14:04Lisa says the strain of the investigation
14:07wrecked her relationship with her child's father.
14:11There's a case of, well, if you didn't do it,
14:13your partner must have done, and you must have known your partner did
14:16because you were in the house at the time.
14:18It felt like they started playing us off against each other.
14:21The tight restrictions around family court cases
14:24make it difficult for us to investigate all the evidence.
14:28But we know that once fractures are found,
14:31parents feel under huge pressure to admit abuse.
14:35If you're denying having done something
14:38and there is, on the face of it,
14:40medical and other evidence to suggest that you did do something,
14:44oddly enough, you'll often do better if you admit it,
14:47even if you haven't done it,
14:49because then you'll seem to be cooperative.
14:52John McCartan's not with his wife, Jill, in Spain
14:56because he says, under that pressure, he made a disastrous mistake.
15:01He says he lied to the authorities,
15:03making up ways he may have accidentally hurt Elissa.
15:07He thought Jill would be able to keep the baby if he took the blame.
15:13I just had this gut feeling at that point that, yeah, we were going to lose her,
15:17and I had to come up with something from that moment.
15:19I had to protect Jill and Elissa, really.
15:21Why did you lie? Why?
15:23I just... I couldn't have Jill losing Elissa.
15:26That's the thing that killed me the most,
15:28that has hurt me the most over time.
15:31Worthingham Council deny putting pressure on John and Jill
15:35after John made his statement during an early interview with the police.
15:43Although John was never charged, he stayed behind when Jill fled,
15:47hoping that would keep her safe.
15:49He now says that lying was a stupid thing to do,
15:52but that he was desperate.
15:57The system critics say demands a confession,
16:00or else you lose the baby.
16:02But the moment you confess to abuse, you lose the baby.
16:06For innocent parents, it's a lose-lose situation.
16:12One MP has been contacted by hundreds of parents
16:16going through the family courts.
16:18Hello, John. Hi. Hello. Hi.
16:20Welcome to Parliament. Thank you very much.
16:22He says the process is so unfair, rather than face justice here,
16:26parents should flee the country.
16:29Is the system loaded against parents?
16:31There's no question. All the cards are held by the local authority.
16:34The local authority has large resources to fight the cases.
16:38The local authority does all the assessments.
16:41So my advice to people, if they can afford it, is to go abroad.
16:44But that's wrong, though, isn't it?
16:46You're encouraging people to leave the country because of social services.
16:50Surely that's wrong. I need to be honest to people and tell them
16:53the system does a lot of damage to children in this country
16:56and you can't get a fair trial here.
16:58Because you can't get a fair trial here,
17:00because you can't rely on the evidence being fair,
17:03it's best simply to go, if you can, at the right time, lawfully.
17:08I do think we have a responsibility to make our family courts better,
17:13to make them more transparent, to build public confidence in them,
17:17and to advocate leaving them altogether doesn't solve the problem
17:23for the vast majority of children and parents
17:25who need our courts to be as good as they possibly can be.
17:31All of these cases begin with a medical presumption
17:34that unexplained fractures equal abuse.
17:39But that presumption is now being challenged.
17:42The turning point was the death of this baby, Jaden Ray.
17:46His X-rays were examined by four doctors before he died.
17:50They identified multiple fractures
17:53and concluded that Jaden had been violently abused.
17:59But a post-mortem proved them wrong.
18:02The pathologist noticed something strange about Jaden's bones straight away.
18:09Now, in a four-and-a-half-month-old baby,
18:11I shouldn't be able to break the rib with my hands
18:14because it should be much, much stronger.
18:16And in this case, it broke very easily.
18:19And also, the bone at the back of the head was so thin,
18:24paper-thin and brittle, that it also broke.
18:31X-rays are just images,
18:33but Dr Scheinberg was able to look at the real thing,
18:36Jaden's bones under the microscope.
18:39She discovered he had a condition thought to be a thing of the past.
18:44Rickets.
18:46His vitamin D levels were very low
18:49and other bone markers indicated that he had rickets.
18:53And when I tested the mother, the mother also had low vitamin D,
18:58which means that this baby had low vitamin D since before birth.
19:03Dr Scheinberg's findings showed
19:05there was an innocent explanation for the fractures.
19:11The parents were cleared of murder,
19:14but the verdict has wider implications.
19:17The case matters because it shows
19:20that doctors diagnosing child abuse from X-rays
19:24can get it horribly wrong.
19:27Rickets was once widespread in Britain,
19:30found alongside poverty and poor nutrition.
19:34It's caused by a severe deficiency of vitamin D.
19:38It's the failure of the bone that is being made within the bone
19:42to mineralise and become properly hard.
19:45So you've got lots of little patches of softness in there
19:49that allows the bones to bend.
19:51Weak bones?
19:53Bones that are soft and have bent as a result of being soft, yes.
19:59Rickets used to be treated by sunlamps
20:02because the best source of vitamin D is sunshine.
20:06The ultraviolets, the suntan rays,
20:08produce the health-giving vitamin D.
20:11The part played by the sun's rays in matters of health
20:14is shown on this graph.
20:15You'll notice that as the hours of sunshine rise,
20:17the death rate sinks.
20:19The disease disappeared for decades,
20:22but now vitamin D deficiency in Rickets are back,
20:25and one possible cause is simple.
20:30We get most of our vitamin D from sunlight,
20:33but fear of skin cancer may mean people have overcompensated,
20:36avoiding the sun or using sunblock.
20:39Now, more than a quarter of us don't have enough vitamin D,
20:43especially young children and pregnant mums.
20:49Whatever the cause, vitamin D deficiency is widespread.
20:53It's more common in people with darker skin,
20:56but the NHS has warned it can affect anyone.
21:01So could low vitamin D lead to weaker bones
21:04before it becomes an obvious case of Rickets?
21:07On this controversial science, the doctors don't agree.
21:13On the skeletal side of things,
21:16we don't have any evidence at the present time
21:19that a low vitamin D level of itself increases your risk of fracture,
21:25but the data hasn't been collected in a systematic way.
21:29There is, as with many things in medicine,
21:32an appreciation now that the complexity of what we're dealing with
21:36may be closer to than perhaps what we'd anticipated in the past.
21:41Low vitamin D by itself may not lead to fractures,
21:45but some doctors believe it is a warning sign that bones may be abnormal.
21:51The logical thing would be that before you get to the very fragile bones,
21:55you have semi-fragile bones and normal bones.
21:58You don't go from this point to this with nothing in the middle.
22:02It's something that happens over time.
22:05We don't know at what point the changes are so significant
22:11that you're more prone to fractures.
22:15The problem is it's difficult for doctors to carry out research
22:18and studies of infant bones for fear of hurting babies.
22:23But one recent study looked at the post-mortems of babies
22:27with low vitamin D.
22:29When doctors just looked at X-rays,
22:31they spotted bone abnormalities in 19% of the babies.
22:35Under the microscope, doctors found bone abnormalities in 69%.
22:42We were looking at the bone at 600 times magnification.
22:46We are able to see the bone, we are able to see the calcium,
22:49we are able to see the specific cells like cartilage.
22:54That's why the microscopic examination of the tissue
22:58is still ahead of radiology.
23:02The sample group was small, but the study confirms a crucial point.
23:07X-rays can't always detect abnormalities in a child's bones.
23:15It's been said and accepted by some radiologists in cross-examination
23:19that it is almost as much an art as a science
23:22because you're looking at very, very slight changes
23:26on pictures of X-rays
23:29and interpreting them from your experience.
23:32So it's not like putting something in a test tube
23:34and seeing whether it turns pink or blue.
23:36It is a very different thing.
23:40Challenging traditional thinking on X-rays and fractures is not easy.
23:45I'm not saying that every child with a fracture
23:48has vitamin D deficiency.
23:50I've had cases in the family court where I said so,
23:55all of cases of a baby with fractures will be child abuse.
23:59And the grey cases in the middle are the really difficult ones.
24:04Jill, the mum on the run in Spain,
24:07lost her daughter after doctors found fractures on X-rays.
24:11But they might not have been caused by abuse.
24:14A blood test showed that Elissa had very low levels of vitamin D.
24:19It was a small blood sample and so the test should have been repeated,
24:23yet her vitamin D levels appeared so low
24:26that doctors began treating her with calcium-boosting medicine.
24:32But Jill and John were kept in the dark
24:34about their baby's condition for weeks.
24:37They were not told that baby Elissa
24:39was being treated for vitamin D deficiency.
24:42And all of this time, because of the X-rays,
24:45they were being accused of child abuse.
24:49Does anybody explain to you that might be a reason
24:53why your baby has got fractures?
24:56No. It was swept under the carpet.
24:59It wasn't a reason at all.
25:01I'd emailed loads of information that I'd found
25:04on vitamin D deficiency, rickets, to my solicitor.
25:09I was told that we wasn't allowed to use that.
25:12It was like we were making an excuse for the injuries.
25:19Elissa's case came to the family court,
25:22where strict confidentiality rules
25:24prevent families from speaking out about their hearings.
25:28Guilty beyond reasonable doubt doesn't apply.
25:32Judgements are made on the balance of probabilities,
25:35the explanation that is most likely to be true.
25:40It was a total nightmare.
25:43You can't prove your innocence against them.
25:46They don't allow you to prove your innocence.
25:49I couldn't believe that this actually still happened in England.
25:54I didn't think it could happen in England.
25:58Ultimately, the judge decided that John had deliberately hurt the baby
26:02and that Jill must have known.
26:05Jill and her family refused to accept the ruling
26:08and that was held against them.
26:11All they kept on about that I was lying,
26:14that I knew far more than what I'd said.
26:19I wasn't fit to be around Elissa.
26:23Because I didn't agree that I knew more, like they were saying,
26:28then that was why I wasn't allowed to have Elissa home,
26:32because I wasn't safe to be around her.
26:36Wokingham Council says the couple were told
26:39about Elissa's medical results in good time.
26:42They say if Jill had separated from John,
26:45then the ultimate welfare decision might have been different.
26:52Elissa's case was heard at a time
26:54when it was hard to challenge medical evidence on fractures.
26:58But the Jayden Ray case changed things.
27:04In every case I've had since Jayden Ray where there's a fracture,
27:08the first question asked is,
27:10what were the vitamin D levels and is there a problem?
27:13Is it possible that that category of parents
27:16who had this set of problems before Jayden Ray
27:19have lost their children for good by mistake?
27:22Of course it's possible.
27:27Sarah had low vitamin D after the birth of her son.
27:32But at that critical time, her baby was not tested.
27:41She believes there was a medical explanation for his fractures
27:45that wasn't found.
27:47But now, four years on, it's impossible to prove.
27:52Sarah and Paul are still allowed to see their son
27:55because he hasn't been adopted.
28:01They get just four contact visits a year.
28:04Today is one of them.
28:07Sarah's parents are going along to see their grandson too.
28:16The visit will last just one hour
28:19and every second will be supervised by social workers.
28:23The time after seeing their boy is the hardest.
28:47Oh, my God.
28:50Oh, my little boy.
28:56It's now another three months to wait and hope and pray.
29:03It's that waiting game.
29:05It is.
29:07And it's so hard after he's been so happy with us for that hour
29:12and so good.
29:14And then just as we told him he'd got to put his coat on to leave,
29:18he came up and put his arms round me and said,
29:21''Sorry, Mummy.''
29:23What's going through his mind?
29:25Does he think that it's his fault that he's not with his mummy and daddy?
29:29It's so heartbreaking to leave him.
29:40If their son is adopted, they lose the right to see him ever again.
29:47You dread the phone ring in,
29:49thinking that you're going to get that phone call from social services
29:53to say that they've found somebody...
29:57..and to think that...
30:00..we won't be part of his life...
30:04..and that he'll grow up without us.
30:09It's heartbreaking.
30:12It's difficult because...
30:16..you have two innocent parents fighting for their son.
30:23And you never think it could ever get to this.
30:27It's difficult. It really is.
30:31But we keep fighting.
30:36And we won't give up, will we?
30:39And we won't give up, will we?
30:41No.
30:54Many parents whose children have been taken have turned to Sophie Palmer.
30:59She's a campaigner who trained as a paralegal
31:02so she can help parents in the family courts.
31:05She's been supporting Jill, the mum on the run in Spain.
31:10When Sophie looked at evidence from Jill's original hearing,
31:13she was shocked.
31:15It appeared that the medical experts had not been adequately challenged
31:19and may even have got important things wrong.
31:22I just thought, it doesn't add up.
31:24This is a two-month-old baby with perfectly decent parents.
31:33Why would they just turn on their child like this?
31:36And when she told me that the child's vitamin D deficiency was so severe,
31:40I thought, how can they treat that as insignificant?
31:45Sophie asked for an appeal for Jill,
31:47which meant some of the evidence from the first hearing
31:50was finally made public.
31:52Radiologist Dr John Somers had said
31:55Alyssa's X-ray showed no evidence of rickets,
31:58so that couldn't be a cause of her injuries.
32:01But we now know that logic is wrong.
32:04Cases like Jayden Ray have shown that rickets is not always clear on X-rays.
32:10Paediatrician Dr Patricia Kenny said Alyssa's blood tests were normal
32:15and that she did not have vitamin D deficiency.
32:18Both wrong.
32:20Dr Kenny also claimed infants of white breastfeeding mothers
32:24are not at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
32:27Really?
32:30It is possible for a white Caucasian baby to develop rickets,
32:35and I can give you a personal example.
32:37My son was on the way to developing rickets.
32:40My wife was breastfeeding him,
32:42and gradually we noticed the edge of his ribcage
32:45was beginning to look slightly odd and turning up slightly,
32:48and that's one of the signs that you can see when bone is soft, like rickets.
32:53And when her vitamin D and his vitamin D were measured,
32:57so it can happen to anyone.
32:59The contrary, i.e. it can't happen to a white baby that's being breastfed.
33:06Is that true?
33:08Clearly not.
33:10Dr Summers says he stands by his statement on X-rays,
33:14part of a longer discussion on rickets and fracture risk in children.
33:18Both he and Dr Kenny say they can't comment on the details of the case
33:23because of family court rules.
33:26Jill and John were refused permission to appeal.
33:30Alyssa was adopted, and that can never be overturned.
33:37It felt like a huge injustice.
33:39I mean, I was sitting next to Jill,
33:42and, of course, she just burst into tears.
33:46She had hope up until that point.
33:50It was hard handing her over to them,
33:53knowing that I wasn't going to be able to see her again.
34:06How often do you think about her?
34:08All the time.
34:13I just wonder what she's doing now, if she's all right, if she's safe,
34:16if she remembers me.
34:20SHE SOBS
34:28It's not the only case where parents believe
34:31the medical issues were not adequately explored.
34:36I stopped mentioning anything medical at a certain point
34:40because they weren't listening.
34:42I was made to feel like it was just making me look stupid
34:46and more guilty, if you like,
34:49taking the blame off of myself
34:53and putting it onto something that just didn't exist, apparently.
34:57Lisa was anemic during pregnancy,
35:00and her vitamin D levels were so low that she's still on calcium boosters.
35:05Experts now say vitamin D tests at the right time
35:09are vital in these cases.
35:11The best I think that we can hope for at the moment
35:14is that every child under the age of one
35:18who comes in with a fracture
35:20has a bone profile measured by a chemical test,
35:24the calcium phosphate, alkaline phosphatase,
35:27parathyroid hormone, vitamin D.
35:29That's the thing we would want to do now.
35:34But Lisa's baby didn't get the crucial test.
35:38Her child now calls someone else Mummy.
35:42It's heartbreaking.
35:44The first time I heard that was during a contact visit.
35:51And my automatic reaction was to go to him,
35:55thinking he was referring to me,
35:58to see him then look around me,
36:01and I was told it was just a word
36:04and there was nothing to get upset about.
36:07And that word is Mummy? Yeah.
36:10Is it just a word?
36:18It's a word that to me has a lot of meaning to it.
36:23It's a word that I should have heard every day
36:28for the last four years.
36:35The system does get it wrong.
36:37Amy Howell in Bristol is another mum
36:40who got shocking news when her baby son was X-rayed.
36:43She had hoped that would help doctors find out why he was so ill.
36:48Instead, they showed multiple fractures.
36:51Blood tests showed baby Harrison had severe vitamin D deficiency.
36:57But doctors ruled out rickets
36:59because it wasn't visible on the X-rays.
37:03A doctor, a paediatrician, came rushing into the room
37:07with three other staff members
37:09and the atmosphere completely changed from there.
37:12She was vicious, really vicious.
37:15You've done something.
37:17Someone has abused this boy.
37:19You must have caused the fractures.
37:23I broke down in tears.
37:25I couldn't really say anything.
37:29Harrison and his sister were taken into care,
37:32but here Amy was unusually lucky.
37:34The judge placed them with Amy's mother.
37:37Once again, the medical experts said that Harrison had been abused.
37:43Medical expert evidence is hugely important
37:46and can often be all but decisive.
37:49You have an expert saying,
37:51this is a fracture and I'm a top radiologist.
37:54It's difficult to get behind that
37:56without, again, very good lawyers and, if possible, other expertise,
38:01which might be important to challenge it.
38:07Family court experts are a small and select group
38:10and some experts report on dozens of cases in a year.
38:13It's lucrative work.
38:17The expert radiologist in Amy's case
38:20is a leading authority on diagnosing child abuse from X-rays.
38:24He's provided reports in over 2,000 cases of suspected child abuse.
38:30We can't name him because of secrecy around the family courts.
38:35In Amy's case, he said Harrison's bones were radiologically normal
38:40and ruled out the possibility that an illness could explain his injuries.
38:45The other expert agreed.
38:48That could have been the end of the line for Amy.
38:51She faced losing her children forever,
38:54except for one crucial fact.
38:57Harrison continued to be ill.
39:00He would cry in agony, especially at night-time.
39:05He wouldn't be able to sleep properly.
39:07He'd wake up sometimes 14 times a night.
39:10And you're not there? And I'm not there.
39:12It's not you then, it's him. There's something wrong with him.
39:15There's something wrong.
39:16The court allowed Amy to appoint another expert,
39:19a professor of genetics who discovered the family
39:22had an unusual history of broken bones and fractures.
39:28He doesn't mess about, does he?
39:30Here he says,
39:32here I disagree completely.
39:35There's strong evidence that Harrison and certain other family members
39:39do have an inherited defect of connective tissue
39:43with a susceptibility to fracture.
39:46How did you feel when you read that?
39:48Erm, amazed that somebody was willing to actually
39:53stand up against these doctors.
39:55We're getting a diagnosis, we're getting the truth.
40:01The professor of genetics eventually convinced the court.
40:04Harrison was diagnosed and treated for rickets
40:07and a genetic bone disorder.
40:10Obviously, things do happen.
40:13People do abuse their children, I'm not denying that.
40:16But at the same time, they need to be being vigilant
40:19because these conditions can go unnoticed.
40:22These conditions do exist and it's just as likely
40:25that these conditions are causing the fractures
40:28as it is that the parents would be.
40:32The same radiologist was involved in another fracture case
40:35where the judge felt the expert stated their conclusions too forcefully.
40:40It could be, the judge said,
40:44that what has hitherto been stated so confidently
40:47by paediatric radiologists as near certainty
40:51is, in reality, much less certain.
40:56The radiologist told us that doctors had to put
40:59the well-being of the child first,
41:01however distressing this may be to the parents,
41:04and that his role is to convey what his experience has been
41:09and what the published literature concludes.
41:12His name must remain a secret.
41:21Back in Spain, Jill's been living in hiding for ten months now,
41:26but a Spanish police officer has turned up asking questions.
41:31Jill is terrified the UK authorities have found her
41:34and are planning to seize her child.
41:37I head for a town on the coast
41:39to meet her and her parents, Debbie and Gareth.
41:42This is a rare outing for them.
41:44They're afraid to leave the house
41:46and now don't go anywhere without Loic.
41:51The other day, we come back home
41:54and there was a police officer coming down towards our house.
42:00He wanted mine and John's passport numbers.
42:03We've never had anyone come before for passport numbers.
42:07What were you thinking at that moment?
42:11Well, what would I do if someone came in here
42:13and tried to take him from me?
42:15And what would you have done?
42:18I don't know. I wouldn't have let go of him.
42:23The Spanish police said this visit was just routine,
42:26but Jill's worried they'll be back.
42:29How scared are you?
42:31I'm terrified of having to go through what I went through with Alyssa.
42:36Jill and her parents are all hyper-vigilant now
42:39for fear that the authorities are closing in.
42:42We keep an eye on cars behind us.
42:47Take different routes.
42:50Wing mirrors, different... If we go somewhere, a different route back.
42:54They're not getting their hands on this one.
42:57Sometimes I think, like, I wish I didn't have to live like this,
43:01but I wouldn't give up Loic for the world.
43:05Wokingham Council admits using Interpol to try to find Jill.
43:09It says it would have been irresponsible not to,
43:12as it has a duty to safeguard children.
43:22When Loic reaches his first birthday,
43:25Jill can apply for him to become a Spanish citizen.
43:28Until then, she remains a mum on the run.
43:34I always have nightmares that I just have...
43:38Well, mainly of, like, Alyssa being taken from me
43:41and people saying, like, ripping her away from me,
43:45saying that I can't see her and...
43:49I have some...
43:52I'm just...
43:54That something's happened to her and that she's not still alive and...
44:02And I'm never going to see her again.
44:22CHILDREN SING
44:29In Bristol, Amy now gets to enjoy the simple things in a child's life.
44:34After Harrison's genetic disease was diagnosed,
44:37social services dropped the case.
44:40Amy was finally able to bring her children home.
44:48How does that feel?
44:50Incredible. Absolutely amazing.
44:53We weren't even aware it was going to happen.
44:57It happened because I phoned social services and they dropped in,
45:01oh, by the way, I suppose we'd better tell you
45:04that we're actually going to drop the case against you.
45:07And I sort of fell to the floor and uttered speechlessness
45:11and everyone sort of stared at me, like, are you OK?
45:14Are you OK? Like, what's going on?
45:16And I just sat there crying with the phone in my hand.
45:20South Gloucestershire Council say they have to carry out
45:23a thorough investigation to ensure that children are safeguarded
45:27and they act on professional medical advice.
45:30However, they regret the distress the investigation caused.
45:43Lisa still hopes her case could have a happy ending too.
45:47She's giving up her flat to help save money for an appeal.
45:51We moved here when I was five months pregnant to make a new start
45:55and we were only here for about six months
45:58when, obviously, our situation happened.
46:01She's moving in with her sister and taking on extra work.
46:06How much is an appeal going to cost, a court of appeal?
46:10From what I know, it's tens and tens of thousands,
46:14it just depends, obviously, what experts are used and how long it takes.
46:20It's going to mean working as many hours as I can
46:23and saving as many pennies as I can.
46:27But it won't be easy.
46:32Do you ever think about giving up?
46:34All the time.
46:36How do you get through that?
46:39Knowing that I haven't done anything wrong.
46:42I want the wrongs put right.
46:44I refuse to give in to the way I've been treated the last couple of years.
47:01Loic has just had his first birthday.
47:04That means Jill can apply for him to become a Spanish citizen.
47:09It's a big step because British social workers
47:12may now discover where they live.
47:18Jill has agreed to let us film at her home for the first time.
47:24Dad John is travelling over from England to sign the paperwork.
47:32It's been nearly a year since he's seen his little boy.
47:37They both felt that Loic was safer from social services
47:41if John stayed in Britain.
47:46Hello, you.
47:48Hey, little soldier.
47:52Right, little clap-clapper.
47:55Come here.
47:57You are a happy boy, aren't you?
48:02Good boy.
48:04Loic only knows his dad from Skype.
48:09He's really chill, isn't he?
48:17Let's see what we're doing.
48:19That's four and five.
48:21That's where we was going.
48:27There's only so much I can expect out of him.
48:30He doesn't even know I'm his dad.
48:35CLICK
48:39John stayed in the UK in the hope
48:41that the authorities couldn't find Jill by tracking him.
48:47I found out that Interpol were looking for me
48:51and the Guardia, they contacted my mum
48:55asking where I was and if the baby was safe.
48:58So I did email them and told them that he's fine.
49:01I sent a picture of him.
49:04Seeing Loic only reminds John how much he misses his daughter.
49:13Remember, he was never charged with harming Alyssa.
49:19He's now retracted his statement to police
49:22about how he might have accidentally caused her injuries.
49:28I can't understand why we didn't get Alyssa back.
49:30I can fully understand why they investigated Alyssa initially
49:33and why the investigation went so cruel and so twisted
49:36and such a witch hunt just to take our daughter.
49:39That's what I don't understand.
49:42I love Loic to pieces, but my main thing is Alyssa.
49:46Like, that's the one that kills me.
49:49Today, John and Jill are making Loic's application
49:52for Spanish citizenship.
49:54Jill's brother is along to translate,
49:57but they haven't brought Loic.
49:59They're worried social workers could be waiting to take him.
50:03But there's no sign of trouble and the application is in.
50:10Loic will soon be a Spanish citizen
50:12and his parents hope that he will be able to return to Spain.
50:16They hope that he will be able to go to school again.
50:20They hope that he will be able to go to school again.
50:24They hope that he will be able to go to school again.
50:28Loic will soon be a Spanish citizen
50:30and his parents hope that will keep him safe.
50:48Back in the UK, Sarah and Paul's worst fear has come true.
50:53Their little boy is going to be adopted.
50:56They've been told this will be their final contact.
51:09Sarah's parents are coming too
51:11to see their grandson for the last time.
51:19Social workers have agreed to let them have some extra time.
51:22Today, they get two hours with their son.
51:25They film their final visit.
51:50Then you did look like him, didn't you?
51:53Yeah.
52:03The visit's over and the family are back home.
52:11I want my baby.
52:12I know you do, my darling.
52:14And I wish I could get him for you.
52:24I'm never going to cry, love.
52:28Adoption in the UK is irreversible.
52:31Whatever happens now, their son cannot be returned to them.
52:38It doesn't matter what we say because...
52:40Of course it doesn't.
52:41..nobody wants to...
52:42Because these people, they're under a law of their own.
52:45They do what they want, you know?
52:47They do what they want, they say what they want.
52:51From now until he's 18,
52:53the only connection Sarah and Paul can have with their son
52:56is to exchange a letter once a year.
53:02It's the same rule for his grandparents.
53:06You and his grandad will get a letter, she said.
53:09And I just turned to her and I said,
53:12yeah, but I'm never going to see him again
53:14because I won't be alive when he gets to 18.
53:17And I'll never stop loving him, Paul.
53:19And if I'm not here, I want you to tell him that.
53:22Oh, love.
53:23That me and his grandad will always love him.
53:25We know that. Always.
53:27You know that.
53:28Because we love you both.
53:30We do.
53:31I don't know how they expect you to say goodbye to your child.
53:35You know? I mean, he's not dead, is he?
53:38No. You know?
53:40Honestly, I really don't know.
53:48Oh, sorry.
53:58I don't care, you know, wherever...
54:01When he's going and he's gone,
54:03wherever he's going, that family could never love him.
54:13OK, young man.
54:18Bye-bye, darling.
54:26It's hard to overstate the loss of a child.
54:32I don't know anyone, and I've never met a client,
54:35who wouldn't rather go to prison than lose their children.
54:39And it is a very great difficulty that we have a standard of proof
54:45because of the need to protect children,
54:48which puts parents at that sort of risk.
54:54Given what's at stake,
54:56it's important that the family courts don't get it wrong.
55:00To what scale do you think there's injustice in the family court system?
55:04Well, obviously one case is not acceptable,
55:06in the sense that we should have a system that picks that up,
55:09but I think when it gets to this level, it's a tsunami of injustice.
55:14We don't know how many problem cases there are.
55:17The government says reform of family justice is a critical priority.
55:21They want new standards for expert witnesses
55:24and better outcomes for children and families.
55:28One wronged parent is one parent too many,
55:32just as one child left without protection is one child too many.
55:36And each professional mistake that comes to light
55:40should drive us to have zero tolerance in the future.
55:45Even the judge now in charge of the family courts
55:48says that only the death penalty is more drastic
55:51than removing a child from its parents forever.
55:55He's committed to opening up the family courts.
56:01But in fracture cases, judges will still rely heavily on medical experts.
56:08Mums like Amy know how powerful their opinions can be.
56:12She was a little boy, but her family was almost torn apart.
56:20It was like a nightmare that you don't ever seem to be able to wake up from.
56:27It's something that stays with you and nibbles away at you,
56:30even when it's gone, even when it's finished.
56:33And it never goes away.
56:37In Harrison's case, the medical evidence was exhaustively investigated,
56:42but Amy can't forget the other parents who've lost their children forever.
56:49It'll be over when they stop doing this to other people,
56:52when I can say that now people have learnt that this is happening
56:58and they're not going to carry on accusing innocent parents.
57:07MUSIC PLAYS
57:14Back in Spain, it's time for John to go home.
57:18He's agreed with Jill that it's better if he stays in the UK for now.
57:26I just have to think about keeping Loic safe
57:29and one day we will be back living together and be as a family again.
57:36Just not yet.
57:41To be honest, I'm not happy that my son's got to be made a Spanish citizen.
57:50I think I should be able to live my life with my wife and my child in my homeland.
57:55I don't think it's right that we've got to go through this process
57:58just to keep my son safe.
58:07MUSIC PLAYS
58:10To keep her little boy, Jill has been forced to live on the run.
58:14Because of the secrecy surrounding the family courts,
58:17we don't know how many other cases there could be like hers.
58:22But we do know that many families still face losing their children forever
58:27if they can't explain tiny fractures on an X-ray.
58:36MUSIC PLAYS
59:06.