Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to issue a formal apology on Thursday for the British state's role in historical forced adoptions that saw an estimated 185,000 babies taken from their mothers between 1949 and 1976. The long-awaited apology follows years of campaigning by mothers, adoptees and their families, who have argued that many young unmarried women were pressured into giving up their children against their wishes.
Campaigners will meet the Prime Minister at Downing Street before he delivers a statement in Parliament. For many of those affected, the apology marks the recognition they have sought for decades after living with the lasting effects of the practice. The move also follows parliamentary inquiries that examined the state's role in creating an environment where unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into adoption, as well as calls for greater support for families still seeking answers.
