Social workers see sense – it's just a shame they're not ours

Daily Telegraph (UK) ^ | 25 Jun 2011 | Christopher Booker

[Murtyo]

Last week, a Doncaster district judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Vicky Haigh, the former jockey and racehorse trainer who recently fled to Ireland to prevent Nottinghamshire social services seizing her expected baby. As I reported at the time, Miss Haigh duly gave birth to baby Sapphire; mother and daughter receive regular visits from England by the baby's father and his three children, for whom she has been a beloved stepmother for six years.

Judge Bennett issued the warrant after Miss Haigh failed to appear before him to answer a charge that she had breached a "non-molestation order" relating to an incident two months ago at a petrol station when, quite unexpectedly, she ran into her daughter by a previous relationship. The child's father reported this to the police, who arrested the already heavily pregnant Miss Haigh, holding her in a police cell on and off for 65 hours, except when she had to be rushed to hospital three times because of pregnancy-related complications. She was then charged with criminal breach of the court order forbidding her to have any contact with her daughter, for which she was summoned to appear in court last week.

Although an Irish doctor wrote to the court to say that she had advised Miss Haigh, who was breast-feeding a five-week-old baby, not to travel to England – as was confimed by Miss Haigh in a phone call to the court – the judge ruled that this was insufficient reason for her not to appear, and ordered her arrest. The following day, after a senior criminal lawyer (and friend of Miss Haigh's), wrote to the judge, he lifted the warrant and adjourned the case until July 6.

[Murtyo]

note the last part "Comments on this article have been disabled for legal reasons " - not the case in the USA!! Yet.

[tlb]

The Telegraph says they have knowledge of the case which persuades them she is being wrongly persecuted, but that they are forbidden by law to publish.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/8528171/Vicky-Haigh-saves-her-baby-from-the-clutches-of-the-social-workers.html

[crazyhorse691]

Having had dealings with social services and mothers with newborns(a mother with a newborn cussed me out and flipped me off multiple times all the while shaking the car seat cradle with the baby still in it because I had interrupted her jaywalking) I am uncertain as to who root for in this case. I am still old fashioned enough that I tend to support the new mother.