A five-year-old, white, Christian girl, who, along with her biological family, was reportedly distressed at being placed into a Muslim foster home, will be sent to live with her grandmother following a court ruling.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly placed into foster care by social workers in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets.
Sent to live with two Muslim families in six months, one family allegedly suggested she should remove her necklace bearing a cross and learn Arabic, The Times reported.
Confidential local authority reports on the case seen by the newspaper alleged the girl was “very distressed” and had begged not to return to the family as “they don’t speak English”.
Local authorities are required to consider a child’s religion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background when placing within foster care.
The London borough of Tower Hamlets claimed there were "inaccuracies" in the reporting of the story
It said the girl had been fostered in a temporary placement with an English speaking family of mixed race.
“Tower Hamlets Council has the welfare of children at the heart of what we do," it said. "The decision to choose foster carers for a child is based on a number of factors including cultural background and proximity to promote contact with the child’s family and the child’s school in order to give them as much stability as possible.”
Judge Khatun Sapnara has ordered the council to conduct an investigation into the claims made by The Times and ordered that the girl should live with a family member who could meet her needs “in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion,”
