D-day For Mother’s 12-year ‘Child Abuse’ Fight

A woman accused of trying to murder her baby son will discover tomorrow whether she has won a 12-year legal fight for justice. Regarded as a test case in Scots law, the landmark legal action challenges the controversial theory of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), which she believes has resulted in thousands of parents being wrongly accused of child abuse.

“My son was only six months old. I’ll never forget the day they took him away,” said “Judith”.

“I wrapped him in a blanket, gave him a kiss and handed him over to the social worker. He was three years old by the time we got him back.”

She was accused of attempted murder, her two children were taken into care and she launched what was to become a long court battle.

Her nightmare began in September 1993, when her son stopped breathing and was rushed to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Over the next few months, he suffered from vomiting and interrupted breathing. She said he was a victim not of violence, but of problems relating to Cisapride, a drug that has since been withdrawn in the UK.

After her children were placed with foster carers, a family court ruled that “on the balance of probabilities” she was responsible for the attacks. However, no criminal charges were brought and after two years both her son and daughter were returned home.

Judith took legal action against the Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration (SCRA), the body responsible for placing the children in care. Lawyers for the 42-year-old claim that fresh evidence, not available at the original hearing, will prove that she is innocent.

After more than 100 days of evidence and an estimated £1 million of public money, a sheriff will rule tomorrow whether or not Judith is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. A spokeswoman for SCRA refused to comment.

The mother-of-four was linked with the now infamous condition, MSBP – a theory which suggests some parents deliberately harm their children to draw attention to themselves. She says she was labelled with MSBP following the intervention of a number of doctors, including the controversial paediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow.

He was involved in the prosecution of Sally Clark, who was jailed for murdering her two sons. He said the chances of two children dying of cot death were one in 73 million. She was cleared on appeal. Scotland’s leading child-abuse expert, Professor John Stephenson, who is also a proponent of MSBP, is central to Judith’s case and gave evidence in the original hearing more than a decade ago. He was called back to give evidence in this latest legal challenge at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He declined to comment on the case yesterday.

Massimo Franchi, the woman’s solicitor, said MSBP had left a damaging legacy. “If my client wins, every other case of MSBP could be called into question. There are 30 years of accusations to come out.”

• Names have been changed to protect the identity of the children.