LONDON — Keir Starmer will issue a formal state apology to victims of historic forced adoption policies in England and Wales on July 2, 2026. The apology is scheduled to be delivered in a statement to Members of Parliament at approximately 11:30 am. Before making the statement, Starmer will meet with campaigners at Downing Street.

Between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers and placed for adoption in the two countries. These adoptions primarily involved mother and baby homes run by religious organizations, with councils also participating in placing children during this period.

The apology follows recommendations from parliamentary committees. In March, the Commons education committee recommended that the government issue a formal apology. The joint committee on human rights called for a state apology in 2022, stating that "the government bears ultimate responsibility for the pain and suffering caused by public institutions and state employees that railroaded mothers into unwanted adoptions."

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed last month that an apology was forthcoming. Administrations in Cardiff and Holyrood issued apologies to individuals affected by forced adoptions three years prior to this event. In 2023, the Conservative government stated it was sorry "on behalf of society" but maintained that a formal apology was not appropriate because "the state did not actively support these practices."

Ann Keen, a former Labour health minister, was among those affected by these policies; she was forced to give up a baby for adoption in 1966 when she was 17. She was sent to a mother and baby home in Swansea that same year. Keen emphasized the need for the apology, stating, "We all need this apology because we have always been accused of giving up our babies and we didn't give them up." She recounted her own experience, saying, "In particular, so many were taken without our knowledge and in my own instance, I went to see my baby on the eighth day because I was told I could have him for 10 [days], and they said: 'Oh no, he's gone now. You were getting far too close.'"