i lost my son to adoption recently because of the lies that were told at a professionals minutes meeting .by the deputy manager of the social services nursery i went too.my solicitor was,nt invited this is happening all the time .

petra lovell, newport , south wales

when you say we need to do something now. when? or how? Something needs to happen right now, every day a child is taken into care and every day a parent looses a child.

Asha, streatham,

I totally agree with most comments made here by parents, the social workers behaviour and attitude need to change. Most evidence collected from children is by unlawful means and they have no interest of the children. Parents are always fighting a loosing battle, THIS HAS TO STOP. LETS FIGHT THEM NOW

Ejaz, London, UK

I have just got dragged into the CAFCASS way of doing things thanks to my abusive ex-husband not getting his own way regarding contact. It's disgusting how the people controlling the "system" can determine that abusive parents can have any sort of contact with their children.

Laura J. Greco de Bove Moses, Birmingham, West Midlands

These courts operate in an enviroment of incompitence so the secrecy laws work for them in hiding this fact trouble is this also includes lawyers socialworkers and often thepolice.They are all quilty of this conspiracy of silence, and there is no course for redress as the complaint is just dismissed

Dave Farmer, Broxbourne, England

When Social Workers, Guardians and their Solicitors tell a child that they are being traumertised by the system "for their own good" there is something very seriously wrong with the system. Once they have a theory no amount of contary evidence will shift them. The child is the expert listen to him

Jay, Brighton, England

As a former Child protection social worker I can state that social workers perjure themselves in court as routine. My first resignation (on the spot) was when Judy Deering solicitor for Lancashire County Council asked me to alter the file 'more in favour of the local authority ' I refused, on net.

Carol Woods, Lancaster, Britain

I completely support Camilla Cavendish on this one, my school are trying to shut me up, because they know the job they do is inadequate and hide behind confidentiality legislation to justify themselves, and I still know about child abuse, this common abduction framework isnt stoping it. Justice now!

Jonathan Kuperberg, Liverpool,

Social Services refused to help me when my abusive husband had attempted to kill me and I was hospitalised. They left my children with him and two months later, when I was able to have them, they took my children into care. I am still fighting to get them back.

Daveene McCallion, bristol, UK

It is bad enough for any loving parent to loose a child. What is even more worse is when children are forcibly removed from parents who have problems. I have been fighting a case against my Local Council it shows Corruption by social workers and the Director assisting with cover up.

John, Islington, UK

Well done Camilla and the Times for having the guts to bring this out in to the open, please keep this campaign going until justice is done and the vile draconian laws changed. We need new courts with panel of independent experts to look at each case individually & accountability.

Hope, cardiff,

Others have said 'what about abuse in the family'. It doesn't excuse children being wrongfully removed from their families, and it happens too often. If children are wrongfully removed, Social Services cause the abuse, rather than prevent it. Well done to the Times and Camilla... I support you!

Michael Robinson, Brampton, England

Please keep this campaign going. I am fighting fours years on to have my children returned because of misreporting and lack of support. It was easier to remove my children than help. 'Experts' need to be held accountable.

Laura, London, England

Yes, it is like a 'Secret State' at work, and now a pressing matter of public interest to open up this black hole inside the social services. This type of officialdom and secrecy conducted like some MI5 operation cannot be acceptable in our democracy, and parents and ministers must have access to it

Malcolm green, Peterborough, UK

The new PL Outline 2008 is having an effect as well as the financial cost of seeking an ICO - £2000 to apply now. Cafcass is also having fewer allocations as a result. Yes, much injustice goes on in the process, especially parents with LD. Lack of LA resources & limited family suport abound.

roberts, wales,

I fully support your campaign. The current arrangements regarding the secrecy of the Family Court system are disturbing and appear to be fundamentally unjust.

Chris Brown, Whitley Bay,

Children in this country are appallingly neglected and abused. Social Services tries far too hard to keep contact going between the child and abusive parents compounding the abuse. So the Times denies abuse and thinks all parents
are misjudged. If you did read the files you would know better.

William, Ramsgate, UK

There are 500,000 referrals to Social Services per year in the UK. Only 30,000 can be picked up.This is the scale of abuse in this country. Abuse you are now trying to deny happens.Shame on you .Mistakes may be made but children come first. Of course parents dont want a child in care but......

Neil, Sheffield, UK

In my experience Social Services Depts bend over backwards to explain ,help, and assist parents. They continue to do this and facilitate contact well beyond it being in the childs interest to do so.

Sharon, Finchley, UK

How can a parent be "innocent" of years and years of neglect and abuse?

William, Ramsgate, UK

I also see that in America a report that the Child Protection Service(cps) uses the lie of "to save the parents from themselves" when removing autistic kids from the caring parents...again its a UK ,USA, etc problem linked only by the same health care system. .thats at the core of this disease

AngusFiles, Oban, UK

I have been away from my son now for nearly a year and it has killed me. Because the Social Services think I am a risk to my children they took my second child away. the judges need to see the truth and let us parents proove it! especially if it means no gagging orders!

Katie Breen, Barry, Wales

A petition (79) has been submitted to the welsh assembly to grant the Childrens Commissioner more powers including the ability to look into family court issues - see assembly website - petitions. hopefully this will help if it gets a public airing

Dai Pugh, M4, wales

I have been very concerned about the secrecy of Family Courts for some time and welcome your campaign for openness. It is basically unjust that people can be accused and the evidence against them kpet secret. More power to your elbow!

Pamela Wood, Seale, Farnham, Surrey

There is not one parent in this country, who has a "factual" report from Child Protection. Hence the constant uproar.

It is time to make Social Workers accountable.

If they lie or commit perjury, the Justice system collapses with them - and the UK faces a civil rights campaign for Justice.

Sally Ann Cooke, Newport, UK

It's very difficult to have a child removed in this country. Adopters pick up the pieces of children who were kept with birth parents for far too long, while social services tried their best to keep them together. You would do better to campaign for children still being neglected by birth parents.

Jackie, London,

I have consistently raised these concerns with this Government since 1997 as a Psychologist who saw gross miscarriages of justice in the Family Courts. They have consistently and arrogantly failed to listen. Multiple thousands of children wrongly removed end up traumatised for life. Truly shocking.

Lisa Blakemore-Brown, London,

My wife and I fostered a 4-year-old girl awaiting assessments of the child's mother who had psychotic tendencies. We accompanied the mother when she attended the family court. I was horrified by the way the mother was treated. In the end her child was placed for adoption. I support The Times.

Peter Reeve, Sheringham, England

It is true that children in foster care have no voice, are often not allowed internet access or phone- so they do not contact the ones they love.

Social workers often block the children from speaking to an advocate or do not inform them of their rights.

Children are treated like prisoners.

Catherine Sara, London, UK

Manyy social workers, Cafcass etc have unresolved personal issues of their own from childhood,which they project onto the service users.

As 55% of social workers were abused as children, then this reflects in the fact that half of all social workers see every parent as an abuser.

Catherine Sara, London, UK

Two words= scrutiny + accountability.
Of which inside the family courts there is neither. Cafcass, Social services and psychiatrists give a personal opinion not backed by fact nor evidence and the judge rubber stamps it, both in public and private law and the legal profession makes a fortune.

m. b, hemel hempstead, herts

Social workers always say, children have bonded well in their care- but then you find the records and discover the child has been in hospital, crying unconsollably all night in his sleep, and doctors cannot wake the child up.

I call that DEEP TRAUMA, FRAGMENTATION, SOUL LOSS.

A bond with death

Catherine Sara, London, UK

I am unmarried and have no children, and will never be involved with these courts. But I hear awful things from coworkers who have been divorced and then found themselves powerless and victimised by these courts.

Officials who know that they work in secret will usually do evil.

Roger Pearse, Ipswich,

I do hope and pray I am wrong that the Times is not concentrating on the care system aka John hemmings and co when the same abuses happen to men and women in the divorce, adoption, care, domestic violence/ abuse industries.

Not another diversion from the issues - cant you see vested interests rule

Shaun O'Connell BSc PGCE, Portsmouth, Hampshire

This is well said, thought it does not even ask why this is happening. It is also way past time that politicians stopped pussy-footing around these issues - what after three decades of legal chicanery, false evidence and silence are the Tories and Lib-Dems doing?

John Stone, London, UK