Public authorities should have a duty of care to parents as well as children in suspected child abuse cases, says Seamus Burns
The Lawrence family, including the father of Stephanie Lawrence’s children, came to the attention of Pembrokeshire County Council’s child protection team in 1999. In April 2002, following sporadic and inconclusive attention from various members of that team over the previous three years, the council had placed the children on the Child Protection Register as being at risk of physical and/or emotional harm from Mrs Lawrence and/or their father. They remained on the register for about 14 months before the council removed them from it in June 2003. In December 2004, the ombudsman had upheld a number of complaints from Mrs Lawrence of maladministration against the council, and furthermore had recommended that the council should pay her £5,000 in recognition of the distress and damage to her reputation and of the time and trouble in pursuing her complaints.
Mrs Lawrence then commenced proceedings against the council, alleging negligence and a violation of her right to respect for family life, ie Art 8 of the
