Published on
02/07/2026 - 15:18 GMT+2
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer apologised for the state's role in decades of forced adoption of babies of tens of thousands of unwed mothers, calling it a "stain" on the country's history.
Between 1949 and 1976, roughly 185,000 babies born to unwed mothers were adopted by married couples in England and Wales.
Campaigners testified that they were pressured, misled, coerced or bullied into giving up their babies. Unmarried mothers were additionally shamed and forced to hide away in institutions while pregnant.
