Teenager taken to west African country ‘would rather live in UK foster care’
A teenager who was taken to a west African country and left behind by his parents would rather live in UK foster care than stay “alone like this”, the High Court has been told.
The boy, who cannot be identified, started a family court case after his parents enrolled him at a boarding school in the country before leaving him abroad over concerns he was at risk of engaging in criminal activity or being killed due to knife crime.
The teenager previously said he had been “tricked”, and his lawyers have asked a judge to order that he be brought back to the UK, having lived in the country since birth.
But lawyers for the boy’s father said that the decision to “relocate” him was “a proper exercise of parental responsibility” and in the boy’s best interests.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Deirdre Fottrell KC, for the teenager, said: “He is a boy who is suffering significant emotional harm and that is as a result of decisions made by his parents.”
Ms Fottrell previously said he was enrolled by his parents in the school and was taken “without consultation or warning” with few of his possessions, under the impression it was to care for an ill relative, before his parents left.
In his written evidence in November, the boy, who is now a ward of court, said: “There is no other way to describe this, but I feel like I am living in hell,” adding: “Please judge, I want to come home.”
And in a further statement earlier this month, the boy said that he would rather be in foster care in the UK than remain in his current situation.
He continued: “I feel completely ostracised and alone here. I am still very lonely. I have no friends here, and don’t really have anyone I can confide in.”
The boy said that moving into foster care would mean he would have to change schools, make new friends, and may be with other children who could have behavioural or medical issues.
He continued: “I have considered that all very carefully, and I’m still desperate to return home, even if this means me going into foster care.”
Rebecca Foulkes, for the father, told the hearing at the High Court in London that concerns about the boy had been growing up to the decision to take him out of the UK.
These concerns included poor school attendance, being aggressive, susceptibility to being groomed, an allegation of stealing phones, and “very worrying Snapchat conversations between (him) and his friends”, the barrister said.
Ms Foulkes said in written submissions there was evidence the boy was “on the periphery of gang culture and criminal behaviours”.
She continued: “There is no real acceptance from (the boy) of the risks to which he was exposing himself.”
The barrister later said that the “reality of becoming a child in care and all of the associated outcomes for such children” along with the risk of the boy resuming previous associations and increasing risk-taking behaviour mean he is “likely to suffer greater harm in returning to the UK”.
She added that he has high-quality care and education available “in a boundaried setting and where the risks to which he exposed himself in the UK are not present”.
Tuesday’s hearing also heard from the boy’s mother.
She told the court: “I want my kids to be where I am… I had to take the decision because I thought I might lose him forever.”
“I told him over and over this is to protect him,” she continued.
She added: “The reason I am not wanting him to come home is because I know I cannot protect him.”
In his written evidence, the teenager said he is not involved in gangs and has never carried a knife or stolen a phone.
He added: “I do think however my parents fear I am way worse than I am… They think I’m guilty by association especially when they see some of my mates. In reality, this isn’t true at all.”
Mr Justice Hayden is expected to give a decision next week.
Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2024, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Kate Collins / PA.
