"Referral from (school). B's teacher had told her that she was going to have to speak with her parents as B had taken a pencil case home that belonged to another child. The school stated that B became very distressed, shaking and crying, and begging her teacher not to talk to her parents. When asked why, B eventually said, 'If I tell you, you can't tell anybody', and then went on to say that she was scared of getting whipped with a wire, or hit with a wooden spoon, if her father was told. B said that this happened before."
"In regards to the removal of the children to Pakistan, the mother reported that she acted to go to Pakistan with the children due to her mother being seriously ill. The mother reported that she was unaware that the father was joining them on the flight to Pakistan, and, 'There was nothing that I could do once he was at the airport'. She added that neither B nor the Local Authority had informed her that the father had assaulted her, and therefore she had not realised the seriousness of the situation."
"On20 November 2017 A talked with me in more detail about this, and stated, 'I remember the night after you took us home from contact. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of mum's bedroom. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning, and I woke up, and dad was there in the house. He was packing all of the suitcases. I asked him what was happening, and he told me we were going to Pakistan. I was really excited. Then I looked at all of the stuff, and said, "
"F's foster carers observed considerable emotional distress and behaviour difficulties when she was placed with them. On one occasion F started crying to the extent the foster carer became scared. She was banging her head against the cot and pulling her hair. She could not be physically comforted, and temper tantrums sometimes lasted about two hours. F would often slap herself when she became angry or frustrated. "
"E's foster carers state that there have been improvements in his behaviour. He now no longer hits his sister. He is less aggressive in the placement. However, they still have difficulties with his behaviour. The foster carer has noticed that his behaviour is most difficult after contact sessions, and can last for two days after the contact sessions. E has started in Reception class since my previous assessment. Staff said that when E first started in the class, he struggled, he was unfocussed and unsettled; he struggled with his concentration; he was impulsive. They have said that he was not deliberately naughty. "
"The wooden spoon broke"; "
"Contact between the eldest four children and their parents was suspended by the Local Authority because it came to light that A had been having some communication with her father through her phone, outside of the agreed contact arrangements. A's phone was taken from her on10 July 2017 in the attempt to remove this responsibility and pressure from her. "
"On 3 October, the father was observed to show A her phone, which he had recently received back from the social worker, following examination of the phone, as agreed with in court. He then said to A, 'Speak to R (social worker) if you want it back', and this upset A, and she started to cry. It is unclear what the father's intentions were in this action, as it is generally understood by all who know A that her phone is important to her, and she has been fixated with having her phone returned to her following this being taken, after the father was found to be contacting her through WhatsApp. "
"On10 July 2018 , when speaking with A, she asked how B is. I let A know that I had been with B the previous night, and I was worried about how contact was going for B. A asked me what I meant by this, before asking me if it was to do with their mother, asking had B said something about their mother. When I told her that B's foster carers had let me know that their mother may have said something in contact, A said, 'She has said things to me too'. I asked A what had been said, and she shared the same information as B, without having any knowledge of what B had said. "
"However, there are barriers that may reduce her capability. These include: her mistrust of the Local Authority and those outside of her community; her loyalty to her husband; her anger towards the Local Authority regarding their mistreatment of her by removing her children to foster care; the view that she has done nothing wrong, and therefore may not see the need to change; her view that she does not need to cope alone, and that she can share responsibility for looking after the children with extended family and friends from the community. Therefore, as outlined in paragraph 6.37, provisional work would be required with the mother in order to encourage her full compliance, and avoid the previously described 'disguised compliance'."
"Furthermore, she reported that she did not feel that she personally needed to change anything per se, rather her husband need to change his behaviour"
"Although I have not been asked to specifically address this issue during the course of my assessment, the mother and father demonstrated some understanding that A and B will need therapy. However, their psychological understanding of A and B was very limited, despite the fact that they have had access to my previous report. They demonstrated a very superficial understanding of the impact of their children's early histories have, and will continue to have, on their psychological wellbeing. "
"A told therapeutic social worker that the father, 'Used to say he would kill me, cut me into pieces, and put me in the bin. He said it in our language'. She went on to say, 'Sometimes my mum got hurt. She would stand in the way in front of me. He didn't mean to hit my mum, but she would get hit because she stood in the way because she tried to protect me'."
"The father is very forthright in recognising that the primary emotion he can recognise, prior to the use of physical chastisement, was anger, something that he says he regrets. However, whilst he seeks to assure that he has changed, he is not able to describe improved strategies for improved emotional self-regulation, and does not regularly identify current examples of occasions when he has dealt with anger, even in a non-domestic setting, in a pro-social appropriate way. "
"On Wednesday, 15 March, we received information from the headteacher at B's school that B informed the teacher that she was scared of being whipped with a wire, and hit with a wooden spoon. The social worker attended the school, and spoke to B, and she said that she had been hit with a wooden spoon by her father. The spoon had snapped upon impact, and then he struck her on the back. B then stated that she had a bruise, but initially said that she did not want to show her. She pointed to the top left-hand side of her left thigh, and said there was a bruise there. "
"The mother and father signed a written agreement which clearly stated that the Local Authority were requesting that father was to reside outside of the family home for three weeks whilst a section 47 investigation was completed; and the children should only have contact with their father that was supervised by the Local Authority. The seriousness of the risks identified for the children was clearly explained to both parents. A joint visit took place between the social worker and the police to see the mother, and the telephone interpreter was used. "
"C sat next to mother to read the book, with B lying on the floor next to the mother, looking at a book on playing with ponies. The mother said something very quietly to C. C did not make any comment, but looked directly at me. I asked the interpreter what had been said, and she shook her head, saying that she had not heard. B looked up from the book in front of her, and asked HG, 'What?' before smiling, and turning her face back to the book. The mother did not look up, and had been unsmiling as she spoke. I asked her what had been said, but the mother said the children did not answer."
"Contact27 June 2018 : B had contact, but was quiet when she got home, complaining that she does not get on well with her sisters. B said her mum told her to tell social workers that dad never whipped her with wire, but used to slap her, and mum tried to stop him. B said that this is a big secret. B said, 'If you tell Becky, she will cancel contact'. "
"I understand that the father has now made certain admissions in relation to hurting the children, as contained within the Local Authority's final statement. I have not spoken to the father directly about this, nor at the time of writing have I seen a final statement from him. I accept what the father has now said, as detailed in the Local Authority's final statement, and can only apologise for not being open and honest with the Local Authority or the court during these proceedings. "
"Things started to change four years into our relationship when I left my family in Pakistan, and moved to the UK with him. Straightaway, he became controlling. He refused for me to have any friends, and he refused to let me out of the house unless he went with me. He refused to allow me to learn English or take driving lessons. He made me feel isolated, upset, lonely and depressed. This was clear emotional abuse. I was only allowed to go to the park for one hour with the children. Any food shopping or clothes shopping had to be carried out in his company. The respondent was very controlling. "
"The father asked what would happen now if he accepted the children's accounts/statements that he had previously denied, and stated gained by coercion and pressure from the Children's Services foster care. The father stated that he did regularly chastise and physically punish the children. Not every day, and not all the children. Mainly A and B. He said he would mainly smack them either on the back of their heads or on their legs. He made it clear he very rarely smacked the younger children. He estimated it was two to three times a week."
"D started saying about her mum used to put chillies in her mouth. I asked why did she do that. She said, 'If we were naughty, she used to sit us on the kitchen, and put chillies in our mouth'. I asked, 'What did you do?' She said, 'We used to quickly wash our mouths because it was very chilly'. I then asked, 'Was it just you?', and she said, 'No, she did it with everyone'."
"I confirm that I did not tell the police about the pornographic video when they first visited in April this year, as the only translator available was by telephone, and it was not very clear. I was asked questions about H, and told that allegations had been made against him, but I was not told what the allegations were. I was shocked and confused, because what I had been told about the video had happened five years ago, and I did not connect the two things in my mind. However, when I reflected on what had happened, I contacted the social worker for a contact number for the police, and I spoke to them again at the earliest opportunity. I attach screenshots taken from my phone in this regard."
"A is getting frustrated with the other children because they are not listening to what dad is telling her she must tell them to do, when he communicates with her by phone. Dad is threatening A and the other children, 'Don't tell the social workers the truth, or I will go to prison'. B has told A, 'I have told the social workers the truth'. A got a scarf and tied it around a lightbulb and her neck. She has jumped from the bed, and it, the light fitting, had given way. "
"I collected A, B, C and D from contact, and took them to their foster placement. When I arrived, C said that she wanted to speak with the Urdu-speaking contact supervisor. She said that she was worried that there were cameras in the foster carer's home. A said when she was in hospital, her foster carer said to A that, 'You had a lot of pressure on you. That's why you decided to take your life'. The mother told A that she should tell the contact supervisor that she is not getting any pressure from her father at all, and that was not the reason behind attempting to take her life. A was quiet, and did not say that she was unhappy with the foster carers, or reiterate what her mother said. "
"When I had decided that I wanted to divorce my husband, our families wanted me to give him another chance on account of the children. I did not want to agree, and I saw a solicitor in Pakistan on 5 April to prepare the document that I need to start the divorce process. I attach this document. I was told that the process was not immediate, and would take time. I took the document to the court on 17 April. After 17 April, both families asked me to give my husband another chance. They were concerned about the children and the fact that they were still very young. They urged me to separate from my husband if this was still what I wanted, but did not want me to issue divorce proceedings. I agreed simply to separate from my husband. I am very angry with my husband for what he has done, and I remain separated from him. He has let both me and the children down badly."
"The mother reported that she condemns the father's assault on B. She reported that it was unacceptable, and if she was aware that it had happened at the time, she would have called the police. She stated that the father had never been physically abusive before, to her knowledge, and described it as a one-off incident. She described the children's love for their father, and that other than this incident, 'He's a good father', illustrating this by describing how at contact visits, they cling on to both their parents, and tell them that they love them. She did not accept that children could both love and fear a parent, and that she believed that B did love her father, because it was an isolated occurrence."
"The barriers to her being able to provide appropriate care in relation to protecting the children, and keeping them safe, are: her mistrust of the Local Authority and those outside of her community; the collectivist perspective of her culture; her propensity to submit to the father, and support him in her belief that it is for the greater good; and her minimisation or avoidance of acknowledging negative information that could portray her, her husband or her family in a negative light. These barriers make it challenging for her to provide appropriate care and safeguarding."
"Physical chastisement has been used as a common form of discipline, and when the father has been angry. The effects on the children will be significant and negative. They will have been parented in fear and tension, not knowing when the next abusive incident would occur. This will have led to them living at home with high levels of anxiety. They are likely to be hypervigilant to threat. The children may accept that physical chastisement is acceptable, and this in turn my impact upon their views of men and women, and appropriate relationships in the future. The children, particularly A and B, are likely to have internalised the reasons for the abuse, and believe it is because there is something wrong with them."
"The mother has now admitted to high levels of physical chastisement that she witnessed from the father at home. Furthermore, both A and B have disclosed significant sexual abuse that they were unable to disclose whilst in the care of their parents. This highlights that the mother is not a figure who the children perceive can keep them safe from harm. Despite her narrative that she tried to save them, she was unable to stop the abuse in the first instance."
"In relation to the mother, the events of the last few months, and the acknowledgement from their mother that she had accused children of not telling the truth, is significant in terms of their attachment to her. When the children were first removed, they would have been feeling incredibly vulnerable and distressed. This emotional distress will have been compounded by the fact that their mother denied the claims around the physical abuse at home. This in turn will have affected their attachment to her. "
"At this point he stated that he wanted to get her attention, and so picked up a toy plastic spoon, and tapped her on the leg with it in order to gain her attention. The father stated that, 'In my mind, I wasn't hitting her to hurt', and that at the time he believed he had hit her lightly. The father stated that he was not angry at the time of the assault, and did not feel disrespected. The father reported that B had reacted by saying, 'Ow', and looking at him; and then he felt instantly guilty, and had apologised to her, and hugged her."
"You have brought shame on yourself, and you have brought shame on your community by the way in which you treated your daughter. You struck deliberately with a wooden spoon because she would not do her homework. She is 9. That is barbaric behaviour."
"On20 July 2017 , B was able to share with me her version of the circumstances of the assault in detail. She recalled how she, both of her parents, and all siblings were downstairs in the room when the father assaulted her"
"On20 November 2017 A also informed me, in the presence of C and D, how she had witnessed the father assaulting B on that occasion, 11 or12 March 2017 . She stated: 'I was there when B got hit. It was so bad. I saw the spoon break. It was a wooden spoon, and it snapped. Mum did tell dad to stop'. My observations of A, when she was talking about this, were that she appeared to be visually reliving what happened, something that she appeared to find genuinely difficult. Whilst C and D did not offer any verbal contribution to this discussion, they also did not correct A."
"On the Saturday morning, I rang my wife to say I'd arranged a taxi to take her and the children to the Airport. At this point, I told her I had also booked a ticket for myself, and I would travel to the airport separately from her, and that I was going of my own accord, and I would not be jeopardising the fact that I should not have unsupervised contact with the children."
"On20 November 2017 , A talked to me in more detail about this, and stated, 'I remember the night after you took us home from contact. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of mum's bedroom. It was about 2 or 3 in the morning, and I woke up, and dad was there in the house. He was packing all of the suitcases. I asked him what was happening, and he told me we were going to Pakistan'."
"However, he has said that for as long as the Local Authority intend to remove the children from his wife's care, they will not be returning to the UK, and his wife will make an application to the court in Pakistan for sole custody of the children. The allegations made are against him, which he has continued to deny in his police interview today."
"Father stated that his brother as well as his mother and father plan to apply for the custody of the children, so that they can remain in Pakistan. He stated that before he left Pakistan, the family made this plan, so that if they did not hear from him, they would go to court on Monday,3 April 2017 . Father stated that his solicitor in Pakistan told him not to disclose any details of the children's whereabouts, except to say that they are in Pakistan. Father stated he will not work with the Local Authority whilst he is in prison. He stated that if he is not in prison, he will work with the Local Authority until they are satisfied, then go back to Pakistan and convince his wife to return, and will bring the children back to the UK."
"Since19 May 2017 , I moved into my relative's address, and stopped contact with the respondent. The respondent has been harassing me nonstop through the family. He was constantly ringing my mobile telephone day and night. I ignored the calls. He was also sending me messages through our community, requesting that I contact him. He was also contacting me indirectly via relatives and friends, continually requesting that I meet up with him. I felt pestered and pressurised. I felt scared of him, and very upset and stressed. I felt intimidated by him."
"The respondent has continued to harass me, and I believe that he has been following me. The last incident was on6 March 2018 . I think he is doing this because I have been ignoring his continual phone calls. I was walking back to my house with my cousin when I saw the respondent was following me. He came up to me, and asked to talk to me. I refused. I asked him to leave, and he refused. So, I threatened to call the police. I was scared, so I telephoned the police. They attended."
"I have known the mother for a long time, since she lived in W. My parents are friends with her parents, and our families have known each other for a long time, since they were living in Pakistan. When the mother moved here, we became friends, and over time we have become quite close. We meet up for local functions quite regularly, normally every couple of weeks, and in between those functions, we make an effort to meet up at each other's houses. We would normally see each other once a week."
"I have known the mother for many years through our families in Pakistan. When the mother got married and came over to England, I was introduced to her, and got to know her. I am very good friends with the mother, and I believe that we are very close to each other. I see her every other week at community functions and fundraising events. I do not get to see as much of her as I would like because of my work commitments, although we speak on the phone often."
"A's sessions with her father are more difficult. He can be forceful in terms of making her engage in physical interaction, such as hugs and kisses. He talks a lot about religion to her, and the interactions between them are very directive. He will ask her if she is praying for him. A appears to prefer interacting with the contact workers, and the father will regularly ask her to stop, as he wants her to interact with him."
"I have known the father for several years. He was formerly the Imam of the Mosque . I can confirm that in all the time I have known him, I have always found him to be a thoroughly pleasant, caring and decent man."
"Mother reported that she condemns the father's assault on B. She reported that it was unacceptable, and if she was aware that it had happened at the time, she would have called the police. She stated that the father had never been physically abusive before, to her knowledge, and described it as a one off incident. She described the children's love for their father, and that other than this incident, 'He's a good father', illustrating this by describing how at contact visits, they cling on to both their parents, and tell them that they love them. She does not accept that the children could both love and fear a parent, and that she believed that B did love her father, because it was an isolated occurrence."
"In addition, following the first assessment session, the mother returned to the next session with extra information to questions that I had asked in the previous session that she had written down. The mother stated that she found it useful to write down notes to remind herself when she had been able to have some time to think about things, and reflect upon them. The mother was able to understand basic questions when asked in her native language of Urdu, and was able to express herself adequately through an interpreter. She showed an inability to attend to questioning for three hours at a time, and also an ability to notice the subtleties of questions asked of her, and interpret the potential implications of her answers."
"In my opinion, the cultural norm has a significant impact on the mother's psychological profile. Cultural norms within a Pakistani Muslim community include: following Islam; being a loyal and supportive wife; being submissive to her husband and other senior male figures in the community; and valuing the collective perspective rather than the individual's needs and views. In my opinion, these cultural norms underpin her core values and beliefs, and influence her interpretations and responses to her husband's behaviour; her view of her own behaviour; and influence her understanding of, and ability to, prioritise the emotional needs and views of the children."
"The mother reported loving her children and her husband, therefore in order to cognitively process her husband's assault on their child, she may have minimised or avoided considering the potential emotional impact of the assault on her children; justified the assault in forms of a single mistake; and defended against any responsibility for the difficulties in order to protect her view of herself as a good mother."
"On assessment, the mother demonstrated a friendly approachable manner, with a good sense of fun and humour. This positive outlook was also noted within contact sessions by observing professionals, who described her as physically loving towards the children, giving them kisses and hugs, playing with the children, praising them appropriately, and being concerned about their welfare. "
"What is clear is that the father can certainly provide appropriate physical care for all the children. He has been the sole carer at times when his wife has been ill, or pregnant, or away in Pakistan. There is no documentation to suggest that he was unable to take care of their physical needs; and indeed, when the children were younger, the Local Authority placed the father in charge of supervising his wife whilst she cared for the children. He has been a stable presence in the children's lives since they were born, and he is able to provide the practical parenting needs of routine, consistency, help with school work, cooking, household maintenance et cetera. "
"However, there are concerns in the following areas: it remains unclear whether he is able to generalise the ability to connect emotionally and empathise with his children in situations where he is distressed or dysregulated. In addition, the two eldest children have alleged that the emotional abuse has continued within the contact sessions, where professionals are present. Therefore, this would suggest that the father would find it very difficult to refrain from discussing any allegations, be that directly or indirectly, within unsupervised contact. "
"(a) the child's ascertainable wishes and feelings regarding the decision considered in the light of the child's age and understanding; (b) the child's particular needs; (c) the likely effect on the child throughout his life of having ceased to be a member of the original family and become an adopted person; (d) the child's age, sex, background and any of the child's characteristics which the court considers relevant; (e) any harm within the meaning of theChildren Act 1989 , which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering; (f) the relationship which the child has with relatives and with any other person in relation to whom the court considers the relationship to be relevant including (i) the likelihood of any such relationship continuing, and the value to the child of its doing so; (ii) the ability and willingness of any of the child's relatives or of any such person to provide the child with a secure environment in which the child can develop, and otherwise to meet the child's needs; (iii) the wishes and feelings of any of the child's relatives, or of any such person regarding the child."
"Relating to the adoption of a child, the court must always consider the whole range of powers available to it in the child's case whether under this act or theChildren Act 1989 , and the court must not make any order under this act unless it considers that making the order would be better for the child than not doing so."
"(a) the court has the power to order the retention of the children's passports, but it need not exercise it in relation to any child in respect of whom a care order is made; (b) the court has the power to order the retention of any travel papers in respect of G, as he is, and is to remain, a ward of court; (c) the inherent jurisdiction can be used in respect of both the mother and the father's UK and Pakistani travel documents, if or because this is necessary to protect: (i) children within the jurisdiction; and (ii) a ward who is outside the jurisdiction."
"(1) first, absent a statutory power, there was no power to permit the continuation of the passport order post the conclusion of the care proceedings until further order. There was no authority to support the proposition that the court, in exercising its inherent jurisdiction, can make a passport order which is unlimited in time after the conclusion of the proceedings in which it was made. "(2) second, that the judge failed to give any adequate consideration to the fact that the order constituted a serious curtailment of the appellant's freedom, and that accordingly, the power to make such an order fell to be exercised cautiously, and in a manner that was proportionate to the perceived risk. "(3) third, that the judge erred in failing to make any adequate provision for future review of the necessity of the passport order. A Local Authority review from time to time of whether a future application by the appellant for the return of his passport should be opposed was a wholly inadequate review mechanism, implying that the onus was on the appellant to justify why his passport should be returned to him, when the onus should be on the state to justify the curtailment of that freedom."
"The result is that the important matters of principle and practice identified by Mr Alomo will have to await decision in another case on another day. Without expressing any definitive view on any of these matters, it may, however, be helpful if I just make three points: (1) I cannot help thinking, given the jurisprudence in Re B (Child abduction: wardship: power to detain)[1994] 2FLR 479 , and in Re B (Child: wrongful removal: orders against non parties) [2014] EWCA Civ at page 843, that there may be some real substance in Mr Alomo's first point. "(2) if an order such as that made by Roderick Wood, J can ever be justified after the conclusion of proceedings, it is likely only to be in an unusual, and probably quite extreme, case where it can be demonstrated after a close evaluation of the degree of risk to the children, and of the harm to which they will be exposed if the risk becomes a reality, that such a serious invasion of the passport holder's rights is proportionate and necessary: Re A (A child)[2016] EWCA Civ 572 . "(3) If such an order can properly be made, and is made, it should usually be for a defined, rather than as here an indefinite, period of time."