False allegations from Fife social services

Kerry and Mark McDougall talk to John Hemming in the video above.

Because Kerry was banned from marrying Mark and told that their baby would be removed at birth, they fled to Ireland. The reason given to them by social services was that Kerry had learning difficulties and had been in care herself and had had a bad experience. Mark explains that this sort of thing happens to many mothers and John Hemming agrees. "It is really about adoption."

When they arrived in Ireland, and after the baby was born, Ben was removed into foster care because the reports from Fife social services painted such a very poor picture of Mark and Kerry. In the reports that followed them to Ireland they were accused of being cocaine addicts and alcoholics. There were also allegations that they had picked up sexually transmitted diseases. In order to prove their innocence and to get Ben out of care they went for health checks and drug tests. The test results disproved the reports from Fife social services.

After four years in Ireland they returned to Scotland where eventually social services told them that they would leave them alone.

John Hemming asks them if fleeing to Ireland had been the right thing to do.

Mark tells him that, had they not fled to Ireland, they would never have been able to get Ben back.

See also: http://alicemooreuk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/mark-and-kerry-mcdougall.html