If a baby were to be kinapped by someone who lopked after it so well that strong bonds developed between baby and kidnapper nevertheless once the baby was found it would be returned to its birth mother irrespective of its fondness for its kidnapper.
Thi baby should for the same reason be returned to its real mother and kept by her otherwise in later life the child will simply feel that it has been found but subsequently rejected by its real mother with harmful psychological effects for the rest of its life !

ian josephs , monte carlo, monaco

Who goes into social work? It's poorly paid with little status and huge responsibilities. Perhaps therein lies the problem?

Layla Jenkins, Hampton, United Kingdom

While I understand the anger towards social services, I think there should be some anger towards the second set of doctors. They overturned a cancer diagnosis for one with abuse, despite no outwards signs of bruises, and then were willing to testify and call her an abusive mother.

A social worker cannot be expected to know medical information like this. They trust the specialists. So, how could the doctors at Royal Belfast Hospital be so far off? Why did they not trust the radiologist that made the initial diagnosis? Were they able to provide meaningful data that ruled out the cancer diagnosis, or do they just like provoking witch-hunts, knowing that it will be social services who is blamed?

Upset Reader, London, UK

It never ceases to amaze me how Social services get their decisions utterly wrong, and with no accountability for the actions that destroy families and, in the worst situations, lives.

Paul Tonge, Grosmont, North Yorkshire

EVERYTHING that Social Services have a hand in is ALWAYS dealt with behind closed doors . Nobody can do anything about it , not even the government ( not that they would ) .

It`s about time Social Services were made accountable .

Jim, Sidcup/Kent,

Was Mrs Mason also charged with witchcraft? I imagine the evidence for that would be at least as good as the evidence for child abuse, in this case. There is a complete lack of accountability somewhere in this process, and a very worrying lack it is too. Not so much sad, as unacceptable.

Martin Baldwin-Edwards, Athens, Greece

We should hang our heads in shame

Paul McKeever, Delft, Holland

If a child has been kidnapped, and 5 years later is found, of course that child would be returned to its parents. Why should the child not be returned when the state is the kidnapper?

RB, Aberdeen,

I agree with Sally C that this case is unbearably sad, but I understand why the adoption process would be difficult to put into reverse after six months.

"Six months later her solicitor advised her to withdraw her consent to fostering".

Perhaps if this period of time had not elapsed, the additional seven months' delay before Ms Mason was questioned under caution would not have occurred?

Nonetheless I can see how vulnerable mothers could easily be exploited in circumstances such as this.

Des, Edinburgh,

who gave rights to these so called care workers to forcibally remove children from parents? They have just irreversibly wrecked someone's family. To think our taxes employ morons like them absolutely disgusts me.

Keith, london,

Someone is responsible for this utter and shocking travesty of justice. Someone should be severely punished. But nothing will happen, a review here, a review there. As witnessed by the front page of The Guardian today, the government is a tyrant and must be brought down in whatever way it can. If that means mass civil disobedience then so be it. The government is there to serve us, not them and their taskmaster bankers and businessmen.

Jeremy Poynton, Frome, England

Will we never hear of someone in Social Services being held to account. It is time for the names of the guilty to appear in newspapers and for index linked pensions to be terminated. The more I hear I about social services the more I despise them. If you look at the break down of your local council tax you generally see an increase of 10% per year, which more often than not equals the increase in head count of the social services department - which leads to a further commitment to life long pensions and retirement at 60 for this group of parasites.

peterj, newcastle,

“At least five doctors were all singing from the same hymn sheet.”

Names, addresses and current occupations of the five please. Also names of the social workers, prosecution teams and judge. The only names above are the accused and her solicitor. The criminals from 'the professions' (or is that professional criminals) appear to have got off scot free. Now there's a surprise!! And all this two decades after the deranged Cleveland Two..... who it appears are still at large.

eric campbell, harrogate, uk

If a typist at the MOD gets £500.000 for RSA how much must this be worth?

Ken Wyatt, Todmorden, UK

In the best interest of all children in Britain all child protection, child care and family justice procedures must be brought out of the dark. Transparency and accountability must be acheived.
It is possible to open child protection procedures and the family courts to 'public overview' without compromising individual children and families
The public perception that the secrecy in all 'family justice' matters is masking 'bad practice' and giving 'corruption' a place to hide, must be eradicated if the most vulnerable children in our society are to have any hope of being enabled access any child protection ability.
There is no place for secret courts in this country.
Justice can't be served in the dark!

Darnthesafetynet, London , W11

Don't these children have a father???

wilson, London, UK

Social Services has a history of failing to intervene in shocking cases of abuse while hijacking children at the drop of a hat in the most peculiar circumstances - wild allegations, by an unreliable minor, of satanic cult abuse, for example. But the fact is that Social Services has a difficult job and generally does it well.

The real problem Social Services must face is that it works in the shadows, unaccountable, by means of secret trials and untested opinion, always waving the banner of "the best interests of the child" in much the same way priests used to burn heretics 'for the good of their souls'.

What would be in the best interests of the child would be to have claims tested in open court. It is no benefit for children to be torn from their parents for reasons which are then kept from them, reasons which may not even have been proven in court or adequately investigated. A bit more openness and accountability would also increase public confidence in Social Services.

RickH, Horley,

Unbearably sad.

Sally C, York, England