English adoption for sisters whose Hungarian parents returned home, judge rules

Two sisters whose Hungarian parents have returned to Hungary should be adopted in England, a High Court judge has ruled.

The girls, now four and three, had lived in England all their lives, Mr Justice Peter Jackson was told.

They had been placed into temporary foster care – with an English foster family – after social workers raised concerns about their welfare three years ago.

Their parents – Hungarian citizens from the Roma community – had returned to Hungary and were against the youngsters being adopted in England.

But Mr Justice Jackson has concluded that the girls should be adopted by the English foster parents they are living with.

Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling by the judge following a family court hearing in London.

No-one involved was identified but the judge said local authority social services bosses in London had asked him to make decisions about the girls’ futures.

“In 2013, the children needed to be removed from their parents, who were not looking after them properly,” said Mr Justice Jackson.

“They now need a family that will meet their needs throughout their childhoods and make them feel that they belong.

“The foster family is meeting the children’s needs in every way.”

He said it would be an “emotional catastrophe” for the children if they were moved and added: “No member of the wider family in Hungary is in a position to look after the children.

“It would not be right for the children to be sent to Hungary to be placed in foster care … It would be likely to cause them harm, with lifelong consequences.”

The judge said the girls’ parents had “natural feelings of affection” but could not meet “even their most basic physical and emotional needs”.

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