Today the Welsh Government Minister Julie Morgan formally apologised to Welsh mothers forced to give away their children in the 1950s, 60s and 70s because they were unmarried. This follows the formal apology for the same historical practice in Scotland by former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, a month ago. Adoption UK stands with all those whose lives have been damaged by these practices, in welcoming the formal apology.

A recent UK parliamentary inquiry estimated that 185,000 babies were affected across England and Wales. The UK government, which governed Wales until 1999, rejected the inquiry’s calls for a formal apology. While it said the treatment of women and children was wrong and should not have happened, the UK government said an apology would not be appropriate "since the state did not actively support these practices".

Ann Bell, Adoption UK Wales Director, said: “The Welsh government has done absolutely the right thing in acknowledging and formally apologising for the impact of forced adoption, on both the mothers involved and their children. A formal apology from the UK government is long overdue. The time has passed to hide behind semantics. Those whose lives were blighted by historical forced adoption deserve un unreserved, formal apology from the UK government, and a commitment to providing the support many of them need because of the legacy of these awful practices.”