Women forced to give up babies owed apology from government, report says

Warning: This video contains upsetting details.

They were forced to give up their babies – in exchange for a lifetime of longing and shame.

Almost 200,000 women in England and Wales, across the fifties, sixties and seventies, were forced into giving their babies up for adoption – their “punishment” for getting pregnant out of wedlock.

Now a damning report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights says responsibility for the damage caused to the women and the children they lost, lies with the government – and it is time for a formal apology.

We spoke to former Labour MP Ann Keen whose baby was taken away from her when she was just 17.