A judge has widened the search for two British boys who are subject to child protection orders and feared to have been unlawfully taken to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus by their mother and her partner.
Sir Gavyn Arthur said he wants to find the maternal grandparents of Charlie Clift, five, and Kaiton Warnes, two, who are thought to be in the north of the island with their mother, Amelia Warnes, 23, and her partner, Kaiton’s father, Jason Warnes, 26, from Eastbourne and St Leonards in East Sussex respectively.
The family court judge appealed for anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the grandparents, Jon Clift, 46, and Lita Clift, 50, also of St Leonards, to call the police. In March, they were convicted of “conspiracy to abduct” Charlie, by a jury at Lewes crown court and given suspended prison sentences.
Lawyers have now suggested that the Clifts may have information about the boys’ current whereabouts but say efforts to trace them have failed.
The boys have been made wards of the high court after they were removed from the UK while on child protection plans and the subjects of ongoing family court proceedings brought by East Sussex county council.
Last week, Arthur took the unusual step of allowing lawyers representing the father of one of the boys and local authorities to name the youngsters, in the hope that publicity will help find them.
The Warnes couple and the children are thought to have stayed in Lapta, in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, where Jason Warnes was thought to have been working in the hotel industry.
Arthur spoke of his increasingly grave concern for the boys’ welfare and ordered the Warneses to return them to England. In a statement released by lawyers, the judge said: “The court expressed its increasing concern that the mother and her husband are refusing to comply with court orders and in doing so are making a worrying situation worse for all concerned and they should return immediately to England and present their case to court.
“The court expressed the hope that the maternal grandparents would cooperate in securing the rapid return of the children. The court further expressed the hope that anyone with information about the whereabouts of the maternal grandparents should pass that information on to Sussex police.”
Arthur was told that Amelia Warnes had indicated to local Brighton newspaper the Argus that she was in northern Cyprus. He heard she had “vowed never to return” the boys and added: “I no longer consider the UK home. The UK government has let me and my family down. My ideal world would be if the whole thing was dropped.”
Charlie’s father, Dominic Burt, 25, also of St Leonards, said he has not seen his son for months. Burt urged his ex-partner to return the boys to England. He said: “Please, bring them back. Think of the boys – think of what is best for them. This is not good for them and it will only get worse. Bring them back so that things can be sorted out.”
