Prime Minister issues official apology for decades of forced adoptions in UK

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer (center), participates in a meeting with activists to discuss historic forced adoptions, at the official residence of Downing Street, in London, on July 2, 2026.
Isabel Infantes / POOL / AFP
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, presented this Thursday (2) an official apology for the more than 185 thousand forced adoptions of children born to single mothers over decades after the Second World War.
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"We are deeply and sincerely sorry for the mothers who were told they were unfit to raise their children, who were prevented from caring for the children they so desperately wanted and who carried this loss for decades," Starmer declared before Parliament.
Between the late 1940s and the mid-1970s, it is estimated that more than 185,000 babies born to unmarried mothers in the United Kingdom were separated from them and given up for adoption, often under intense pressure from hospitals, social services, charitable organizations and religious bodies.
This Thursday, in front of Parliament, the head of Government described the scandal as a "stain" on the history of the United Kingdom.
In many cases, women were convinced or coerced into giving up their children, under the argument that they were not fit to raise them or that the child would have a better future with a married family.
Many mothers reported that they were barely able to see their babies before they were given up for adoption.
An independent investigation concluded that the practices constituted a grave injustice and recommended that the government issue an official apology.
"The shame does not belong to you. It never did. It belongs to us. I say this on behalf of the whole country and I say to everyone affected: we are deeply and sincerely sorry," Starmer added.
The Prime Minister had previously met at his Downing Street residence with mothers and children who were victims of these forced adoptions, praising their "extraordinary courage".
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Source: G1