Strong Local Voice, Strong Local Champion

Westminster Hall: Family Court Cases (Expert Witnesses/Angela Cannings Case)

Mrs. Annette L. Brooke (Mid-Dorset and North Poole) (LD): May I add my congratulations to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne), because it has been a very timely debate-whatever the reason for the timing? It gives us a much better chance to raise further questions.

Rather than going into the details of the legalities, which have been so admirably covered, we need to think about what lessons can be learned, what questions should be asked and what is the best way forward. I would like to associate myself with the comments of the hon. Members for Rochdale (Mrs. Fitzsimons) and for Stockport (Ms Coffey) that the child's interests are paramount and that all the professionals must not be discouraged from investigating any alleged child abuse. It is a tremendous problem in our society. It may be the downside of some of the points that we have to talk about in this case.

We have heard the statistics so many times: one in 73 million for two sudden infant deaths in one family-on that basis, I cannot do the arithmetic to get it up to three sudden deaths. However, the statistic totally ignores the fact that there may be unknown genetic or other factors that predispose a family to sudden infant deaths. It is invalid. With hindsight-always very clever-we see how that false statistic had such a dramatic effect on all the media reports, and it is very difficult to believe that it did not influence judgments at the time.

It has now emerged that there was a history of sudden infant death in Angela Cannings's family. Her great grandmother and grandmother both lost babies in unexplained circumstances, suggesting that there might be a genetic link. There is also the claim that the effects of a drug called Cisapride have resulted in hundreds of cases of wrong diagnosis worldwide. Although this drug has now been withdrawn from the UK market, I would like to ask the Minister whether there will be an investigation into it and any bearing that it might have on child deaths attributed to Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

It is now clear that when several child deaths occur in the same family there should not be an automatic conclusion that the dead infants were deliberately killed. There has to be an evaluation of the many other factors that might have contributed to the deaths. However, the great weight that was placed on Professor Sir Roy Meadow's theory and evidence over the years, and this may well have blinkered the people dealing with the child abuse cases. I do not mean that in a derogatory sense, but with so much weight being given to a particular aspect, I wonder whether they might not have picked up all the other clues. The Court of Appeal judgment is very clear, that

"the prosecution of . . . parents for murder should not be started, or continued, unless there is additional cogent evidence, extraneous to the expert evidence . . . which"

leads to

"the conclusion that the infant . . . was deliberately harmed."

However, we still have to ask the same questions as far as the family court is concerned: what will be the role of expert witnesses, and how will they be handled in the future? I do not have the knowledge, but I have the questions here.

Given the fact that there could be thousands of cases in which some form of injustice has occurred, the Minister has been in the unenviable position of deciding the best way forward. I share her concerns as well as expressing my sympathy for all the families that have been involved in this. I would like to thank the Minister for the clear and logical statement yesterday, and wholeheartedly agree with her underlying premise that the children's interests must be paramount. However, questions remain about how far we can proceed.

I asked a question yesterday about a national helpline, because I believe that there needs to be more publicity regarding help, advice and perhaps even counselling for all the people caught up in these tragedies. Some families have described themselves as going through hell. The Minister said:

"If birth parents are worried, they should take their own legal advice"-[Official Report, 23 February 2004; Vol. 418, c. 39.]

I am emphasising that and perhaps taking it out of context, but it is not good enough-people need more support than that. I am aware that every local authority is required to have an adoption support services advisor, but would everybody who might want advice know that? Will anybody who believes that their children were falsely taken away from them want to go back to that same local authority for advice? I ask her to give more thought to this issue of how those troubled people get help and support.

Social services departments throughout the country now have the task of reviewing cases directly or responding to the Attorney-General's review. I presume that the same staff who were instrumental in children being taken away from their parents, and in some cases arranging adoption, will carry out the review. Given the circumstances, and the fact that we now know that undue weight was given to certain expert witnesses, will the Minister give consideration to the points that I raised yesterday on monitoring councils, and indeed to the helpful remarks made by the hon. and learned Member for Redcar (Vera Baird) suggesting the involvement of the Law Society's family law practitioner group?

The president of the Association of Directors of Social Services said in a press release in January:

"No child will have been adopted or taken into care solely on the basis of expert witnesses. Decisions to recommend their adoption and being received into care will have been made by courts who will have ascertained that the cases pass all the other welfare tests contained within children's legislation."

I want to place it on the record that I admire the professionalism of all those involved in child protection, but I have a niggling doubt about the blinkering effect, and not being able to see the wood for the trees. I wonder whether an external review of a sample of cases might be considered. I take on board what the hon. Member for Tatton has said about those cases in which expert evidence was not challenged, and it is a concern that these matters are not really being considered. The Minister said yesterday that care orders are reviewed every six months. Will she give some additional guidance for those six-monthly reviews? More could be done there.

I asked a question yesterday that did not work out very well, given the time span, so if the Minister will forgive me I will expand on it slightly. I am concerned about investigations into the deaths of children who have been adopted. Has there been any research on the links between such children and families allegedly affected by Munchausen syndrome by proxy? Perhaps that clarifies my point. Such research would throw further light on the evidence that Sir Roy Meadow gave and would provide more information. Come what may, we must learn from all these events.