Left image: Professor Gordon Harold. Right: Helen Hayes (MP, Chair of Education Committee), Ann Keen (Mother, former MP), and Professor Harold.
Donor-supported Cambridge research helps secure a historic UK Government apology
Evidence provided by Professor Gordon Harold and the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Research and Professional Practice Programme informed the inquiry that contributed to Sir Keir Starmer’s official apology on behalf of the UK Government for historic forced adoption practices in England, delivered in Parliament on 2 July 2026.
Published on:
8 July 2026
For the first time, mothers, adoptees, and others can hear: we were wrong, not you.
Professor Gordon Harold, Faculty of Education
Supported by the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Foundation, the Programme advances research to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families and to promote research-informed impacts for practice and policy.
Guided by this vision, Professor Harold and his team shared key evidence at the 2021 Joint Committee on Human Rights cross-party government inquiry examining the experiences of more than 185,000 mothers who were pressured or coerced into placing their children for adoption between 1949 and 1976. Professor Harold also provided crucial evidence to the UK Government’s Education Select Committee earlier this year.
This research demonstrated the lifelong, debilitating trauma-related outcomes experienced by mothers, adoptees, fathers, and others as a result of forced adoption practices during this period, with severe consequences for both their long-term mental and physical health as well as other outcomes.
Responding to the UK Government’s apology in interviews with ITV and the BBC, Professor Harold commented: "The apology captured what the state needed to say and how the state needed to say it.
"For the first time, mothers, adoptees, and others can hear: we were wrong, not you.”
Professor Harold believes that the Foundation’s support helped make this landmark Government announcement possible: “The funding and support has given me the time to respond to issues that influence both people and policy.”
Welcoming the apology as a key moment of recognition, Professor Harold explains that the work is far from over: “The UK Government’s apology is an essential first step, but the implementation of recommendations will be the crucial next step.
"The Rudd Programme will be actively engaged in ensuring that several of the key recommendations provided by the Prime Minister are delivered and in advising how they should be delivered.”
This outcome demonstrates the power of philanthropy beyond Cambridge. Thanks to the vision and support of the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Foundation, Cambridge researchers are helping to shine a light on unheard experiences and drive forward policy change.