Human rights defeat for Down’s syndrome man taken from care of mother
A Down’s syndrome sufferer has lost a High Court fight after claiming council bosses breached his human rights.
The man, who is in his 20s, was unfairly moved from the care of his mother for more than two years by social services bosses at Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Greater Manchester, his lawyers had claimed.
He was entitled to damages because his rights to liberty and respect for family life had been infringed, they said.
But a judge has concluded that a claim was not made quickly enough – legislation says proceedings should be launched within a year – and has refused to allow lawyers more time.
Council bosses told Mr Justice King that the delay in launching legal action would put them at a disadvantage because evidence would now be hard to gather.
They said witnesses might be hard to find, documents hard to locate and emails hard to collect.
Mr Justice King agreed.
He said a trial might not take place until 2018 and said the council would be at a disadvantage if bosses had to gather necessary evidence years after the event.
The judge heard that the man had been removed from his mother’s care from 2011 to 2013 after she was accused of a crime. He said she had been prosecuted but acquitted.
Council bosses accepted that under current law the man’s right to liberty had been breached – but they said there had been no breach on the “understanding of the law” in 2011.
They argued that the man had, in any event, not suffered any substantive loss and should be entitled to nominal damages.
The council had apologised as well as offering the man £2,000 compensation and his mother £1,000.
The man’s lawyers had suggested a total of £3,000 was not enough.
Mr Justice King, who analysed the case at a High Court hearing in Manchester, has announced his conclusions in a ruling.
The judge has not identified the man.
He said a relative had taken legal action on his behalf.
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