Grandparents win their appeal

"It was only after an exhausting 18-month fight that Lee and Katrina were finally made India’s official guardians, in a ruling enforced last August."

"Their story shines a disturbing light on how easily relatives, particularly grandparents, can be frozen out of the adoption process, and the way social workers can collude to hide vital decisions about vulnerable children. Often families have no idea why they are being shut out of a child’s life."

"For their part, the Parkers may never know the case against them. Shielded by the notoriously secretive family courts system, Essex Council has yet to explain why the couple faced so many hurdles in their attempts to adopt India. Indeed, Lee and Katrina can reveal some of the facts now only because the judge who upheld their appeal against Essex Council’s decision to have India adopted has released a copy of the judgment he made 16 months ago. "
"The only reason that the Parkers were able to halt the process is because a sympathetic professional — whom they cannot name in order to protect her identity — told them about a limited two-week right of appeal that had almost lapsed. If it had not been for their panicked last-minute challenge, India would have disappeared for ever into the adoption system. "

"The Government is trying hard to speed up the adoption process, allocating an extra £50 million this year with the aim that cases should take no more than 21 months to resolve."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2654475/The-loving-grandparents-forced-fight-tooth-nail-stop-social-services-giving-away-grandchild.html#ixzz34M55xsvy