Social services criticise ‘traumatic effect’ on children following raid on couple’s home

Social services bosses have criticised a police raid on the home of a couple feared to have links to Islamic terrorism.

They say the couple’s three children were avoidably traumatised and have described the raid – which took place in October 2015 – as “disproportionate, heavy-handed and unnecessary”.

The criticism was made by a lawyer representing council bosses with responsibility for the children’s welfare at a family court hearing.

A High Court judge had been asked to make decisions about the children’s futures – and detail of the criticism has emerged in a ruling on the case.

Mr Justice Hayden, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, said evidence showed that the raid had made a “powerful impression” on the children – now aged 12, 14 and 15.

But the judge said the raid had been a police operation matter – and he said he was “simply unable to say” whether it was disproportionate.

He did not identify anyone and did not say which police force or which council were involved.

The children had been taken into foster care after the raid and social services bosses had begun legal proceedings which could have resulted in them being permanently removed from their parents.

But council lawyers told Mr Justice Hayden that social services bosses now wanted to halt those proceedings – and the judge gave his approval.

Mr Justice Hayden said concerns had been raised about the children’s parents helping people get into Syria to “engage in conflict”, providing “financial assessment” to people known to be linked to terrorism, communicating with people connected to terrorism and disseminating social media information which glorified and encouraged terrorism.

He said they had been arrested but indicated that neither had been charged with any offence.

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