Al Jazeera English • July 2, 2026 15:03

UK’s Starmer apologises for the state’s role in decades of forced adoptions

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UK government and Christian churches oversaw system that separated 185,000 babies from their mothers from 1949 to 1976.

Story Timeline

Thu 07:22 - BBC Politics

Starmer to formally apologise to victims of forced adoptions

Thu 13:18 - Euronews

Keir Starmer issues state apology for decades of forced adoptions practices in UK

Thu 14:11 - NYT Europe

Dutch and U.K. Governments Apologize for Their Roles in Forced Adoptions

Thu 15:03 - Al Jazeera English

UK’s Starmer apologises for the state’s role in decades of forced adoptions

Different Perspectives

BBC Politics

1 article

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07:22

Starmer to formally apologise to victims of forced adoptions

The practice saw thousands of babies taken from their mothers between 1949 and 1976.

Euronews

1 article

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13:18

Keir Starmer issues state apology for decades of forced adoptions practices in UK

Previously, the then-Conservative government declined to apologise, arguing that the state had not supported these practices. Starmer has now acknowledged the government's role in forced adoptions.

NYT Europe

1 article

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14:11

Dutch and U.K. Governments Apologize for Their Roles in Forced Adoptions

In the Netherlands, more than 15,000 children were separated from their mothers from 1956 to 1984, causing “great sorrow and anger,” according to an official report on the practice.