Nearly a thousand parents have abducted their own children in the last five years, new figures have revealed, as lawyers warn of a “perfect storm” in the family courts and fears that chronic delays are fuelling a rising number of illegal acts.
Figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests show that at least 925 children have been abducted by a parent between 2019 and the end of last year, with nearly half of the recorded incidents occurring in London.
There were at least 232 parental abductions reported to police forces across England in the last year alone, marking a 12 per cent rise on the figures from 2019.
Mani Singh Basi, a specialist Family Law barrister, said parents who are frustrated with stalled judicial proceedings are “taking matters into their own hands”.
In his experience the majority of abductions happen when parents are battling over custody rights or a divorce settlement, and he has pointed to “court delays” as one of the likely causes of the increased number of incidents.
“Families going through stressful and painful disputes are being subjected to significant waits to secure a resolution”, he said.
“As a result we’re seeing many parents feeling like they need to take matters into their own hands.”
Responding to the figures and Mr Basi’s analysis, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “There is absolutely no evidence to support these claims.”
Latest MoJ figures show private law cases in the family courts took an average of more than 45 weeks to be resolved in 2023, compared with 27 weeks in 2019.
The Law Society of England and Wales has issued its own dire warning of a “perfect storm” brewing in the family courts, citing “increasing backlogs, delays and chronic lack of investment”.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said the number of people involved in family court proceedings without having legal representation has trebled in the last decade, including more than 5,000 cases in Central and East London.
He argued that cuts to Legal Aid have pushed people straight to court rather than through mediation, clogging up the system and leaving people to fend for themselves in complex legal cases.
Mr Basi, a barrister at 4PB chambers who specialises in cases where children have been taken out of the country, also said “red flags” to indicate an impending abduction are also being missed.
“I support a lot of families when a child has been abducted and this is certainly an issue which I have seen grow in the past few years”, he said.
“Authorities including the police, but also social services and schools, need to be alive to the potential signs of abduction so they can adequately protect children. These include previous incidents of domestic violence or relationship issues, close ties to another country and threats or previous incidents.”
MoJ data reveals there were more than 100,000 cases involving children trapped in the court backlog in 2023.
“Tens of thousands of children continue to wait almost a year for decisions about their future which is affecting children and exacerbating uncertainty within families”, said Mr Emmerson.
“The delays prevent parents from being able to see their children and could mean children are left without the stability they need to thrive.This must be addressed urgently.
