Starmer issues formal state apology for UK’s forced adoption scandal affecting 185,000 mothers and children

A long-awaited apology

On 2 July 2026, outgoing UK prime minister Keir Starmer stood in the House of Commons and issued a formal state apology for the forced adoption of babies from unmarried mothers that took place between 1949 and 1976. An estimated 185,000 children were separated from their birth mothers in England and Wales during that period. The apology followed decades of campaigning by affected mothers and children.

What happened to them, and to tens of thousands of mothers, children and families, should never have happened. It is a stain on our history.

Starmer described how young, vulnerable mothers were coerced, intimidated or misled into giving up their children. He said the shame belonged not to the victims but to the state and all those responsible.

The system of shame and coercion

The forced adoptions operated through a network of local authorities, voluntary and faith-based organisations, and health and social services. The Church of England, which ran many mother and baby homes, apologised for its role just last month. Unmarried women were often sent to these homes against their will, shamed and pressured to comply with the social norms of the time.

On behalf of the whole country, I say it to every single person impacted: we are deeply and profoundly sorry.

The UK government’s joint committee on human rights concluded in 2022 that the government bore ultimate responsibility for the lack of protection for unmarried mothers and their babies.

Support, not compensation

While the apology was unequivocal, the government stopped short of offering direct compensation payments. Instead, £4 million has been allocated to help people access adoption records, reconnect with family members and create testimonial projects documenting the long-term impact. Mental health support will be improved and a lived experience reference group will track progress. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the pain was unimaginable and that the apology must be the start of real change.

An apology cannot undo what happened, but it can be the start of real change, alongside providing the practical action, care and support that people need.

A global reckoning

The UK joins other nations that have confronted similar histories. Australia issued a national apology for forced adoptions in 2013 under then prime minister Julia Gillard. Ireland’s prime minister Micheál Martin apologised after a 2021 inquiry found 9,000 children died in 18 mother and baby homes over the 20th century. Scotland and Wales have also issued their own apologies in recent years.

Starmer, who met with a group of affected mothers and children at Downing Street before the parliamentary statement, said the state failed to prevent the harm and that it is a “stain on our history”. The apology is one of his final acts as prime minister before handing over power in the coming weeks.