apologies if this has already been posted, I've not seen it in today's reports.
Marten claims two of her other children were abued in care, court heard.
Under cross examination, she claimed that her two oldest children suffered abuse after being taken into care.
Marten and partner Mark Gordon deny gross negligence manslaughter of their daughter Victoria
www.independent.co.uk
It’s certainly not impossible by any stretch, but is unlikely. A lot of birth parents make claims like this that are purely malicious (in the sense of being unfounded) in an attempt to find some control in the situation and cause the children to be moved again while the situation is investigated. I do think, however, if it wasn’t true, it’s a terribly sad accusation to make for those children who will have to be told about it when appropriate.
JMOO, but CM appears to have so many conflicting views. She’s being watched by investigators hired by her family (with a hint of suggestion they could have caused car issues), but wants CCTV in contact centres. She doesn’t want medical intervention, but presents at a hospital for the birth. She would do anything for her children, but not take a COVID test or agree to another mother and baby placement. I think we’re now seeing a bit more of the difficulties that prevented her working with SS effectively: with the covid test refusal, the CCTV request because she felt she was being misrepresented (despite the fact this prevented her seeing her children) and -
maybe - these abuse claims.
I think her comments about children in Mongolia, children living in igloos and refugees raising infants in Calais are very poorly thought through. Firstly, children in refugee camps do die due to conditions, some children died after leaving the camp due to the conditions of the camp and lack of medical care there. Children in igloos have suitable very warm, waterproof clothing throughout the day inside the igloo and their cultures had knowledge on how to survive extreme cold. They also ate a very high fat diet. In 2023, Save the Children campaigned for humanitarian aid for children in Mongolia due to the extreme cold killing livestock and leaving 80,000 children in need of aid. Equally, again, the families in that culture had experience of managing extreme weather conditions. I’m not sure she realises how offensive her comments about other cultures and religions have been - the hijab in the taxi, the Irish traveller accent on the labour ward, now the bizarre references to igloos and Mongolia.
IMO, she comes across as someone who just won’t change her mind and tries to use whatever shred of knowledge to support her opinions, even if it’s contextually and morally (and just factually) wrong.
