Gurkhas Champion :
Could you now win Justice4Children, please?
(Davey makes an impassioned Facebook appeal to this well respected actress/activist!)
Lord Chancellor and Justice Minister the Rt. Hon. Jack Straw M.P. has made one attempt at reform of Family Law since taking over the role from Lord Falconer (who did nothing) 2 years ago, and that was to propose an 'Open Court' policy in April 2009. Sadly this was thwarted at the first hurdle, the judges, which is strange as cases could have been identified as Child A Child B or Family XYZ or even instruct the press to use case number only in sensitive cases. More over it is the judges that should be scrutinised by Public and press without compromising child welfare!
Sir Bob Geldof was awarded a knighthood for his extraordinary work for the starving in Africa, I believe he is also deserving of merit for alerting many to the failures of Family Law in his excellent 'Geldof on Fathers' programme. 6 years on, and following his comment in the Daily Mail just before Christmas, he must feel dismay that the only progress in that time was Jack Straw's whoop and grunt attempt to open the courts!
Lord Justice Ward complained in The Times 1st May 2008 that "Vengeful mothers leave good fathers powerless to see their children!" He made a similar observation in the Bristol Evening Post on the 18th December 2009. Who does Lord justice Ward think is going to put this right should it not be him and other law makers such as Lord Justices Wall and Woolf!
Gloria Hunniford and Jimmy Deuchars have been fighting the corner for Grandparents for sometime now not only for rights of access but as guardians instead of children being forced into irrevocable care, when extended family may offer stability and continuity whilst parents sort out their issues, why should kids go into care when it the adults failure that should be dealt with? 'Grandparents these bastions of commonsense and stability!' I believe this is the key to the overall reform of Family Law and child Welfare in this country.
John Hemming (Lib-Dem) M.P. for Yardley, Birmingham has in my opinion the most knowledge on this subject in Parliament, and presides over the constituency said to have the worst Social Services in the country (I believe no county is imune from this failure). His colleague
Lynne Featherstone (Lib-Dem) M.P. for Haringay has also taken an interest in the worst social service department in London, I believe if these 2 excellent backbenchers took over the roles of Ed Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper at the DWP we would see rapid reform long overdue after the recent high profile and tragic cases!
Camilla Cavendish won the Paul Foot award for her campaign for Family Law reform in The Times and is the most authoritative journalist on the subject and one of the first to attend the so called open court (Ipswich) last April. ( Click on blog title)
This subject needs more media recognition and brought higher up the political agenda and NOW!
Kind regards
Daveyone ( International Family Law Blogger)
"Nick Clegg - Liberal Democrats",">
On Saturday 25th September 2010
