The very unusual decision to lift reporting restrictions on the case of Rebecca Minnock and her son, Ethan, has allowed a rare insight into the workings of the family and high court system when a child goes missing.
Though the case made national media headlines this week, reporting restrictions were initially partially lifted by a district judge on the day mother and child went missing: 27 May. That allowed Avon and Somerset police to issue an appeal for help in finding Minnock and Ethan without going into any detail about why she had gone.
As the days passed with no sign of Minnock or Ethan, the case was transferred to Judge Stephen Wildblood, who, as a high court judge, has greater powers to compel people to reveal what they know.
Wildblood, the designated family judge for Bristol, made what are known as “collection orders” that were served on relatives including Ethan’s grandmother Louise Minnock, uncle Marvin Shaw and a family friend, Andrew Butt.
An arcane-sounding figure – the tipstaff – is closely involved with this process. Those served with the collection orders are obliged to hand the child over to the tipstaff if they have him – or provide whatever information they have about his whereabouts. If they fail do so, they can be found to be in contempt of court, which is punishable by prison or fine.
The tipstaff is based at the high court in London. He has two assistants but can also call on any constable or bailiff in England and Wales to assist in carrying out his duties.
The majority of the tipstaff’s work involves locating children and taking them into protective custody, including in cases of child abduction abroad. He has extraordinary powers: one family lawyer described how he had been able to stop all planes heading from the UK to an eastern European country when it was feared a child was about to be smuggled there.
Wildblood and the tipstaff – his name is not known – have been working closely to try to find Minnock and Ethan.
At the start of this week, Louise Minnock and Shaw appeared before Wildblood, who said he suspected they knew more than were letting on but could not be sure, so allowed them to walk free from court. On Thursday, Andrew Butt appeared before the judge. Butt initially denied knowing how Minnock had left Somerset, but on Friday – after a night in a cell – admitted he helped her flee.
Very unusually, the judge then lifted all reporting restrictions on the case, allowing the media to report in full what would normally be a private family matter. His justification is that the priority is getting Ethan back.
His detailed judgment – which includes more detail than has been published in the media - has appeared on the courts and tribunals judiciary website.
It has meant that intimate details of the breakdown of Minnock’s relationship with Ethan’s father, Roger Williams, have been laid bare. The publicity has led to Williams fleeing his home. It also opens up the prospect of Ethan being able to read details of his parents’ acrimonious battle for custody of him as soon as he is old enough to have access to a computer.
During this week’s hearings the judge has been at pains to make sure the media knows it can report everything and has repeatedly turned to the press bench to ask if reporters understand the proceedings and invited questions.
The judge’s approach has been largely welcomed by experts.
Maris Stratulis, social worker and England manager at the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), said: “The judge has got to prioritise the interests and the welfare of the child. They have got to. Although this is an exceptional circumstance, there must have been a set of rationale to safeguard the child. We have to trust the decision of the judge.”
Prof Julie Taylor, chair of the Child Protection Research Centre, a partnership between the University of Edinburgh and the NSPCC, said the decision to lift reporting restrictions was rare but would have been made to protect the child.
“The mother is clearly distraught,” Taylor said. “It is an unusual step to lift restrictions but the judge would have taken the step in the interests of the child. We have a desperately distraught mother and a child who is clearly at risk of being emotionally harmed and we need to find them.”
The role of the police in such cases is interesting. They are not in charge of the search but rather act as “agents” of the court. Avon and Somerset police have not said how many officers are searching for Ethan, only that a “number of departments” are involved.
A side-issue – but an important one – that has also emerged is the impact of the withdrawal of legal aid. Wildblood was angry when he found that legal aid was not available for Butt, which delayed his hearing. Ethan’s father is not now represented in court because he has run out of money.
