Archbishop of Canterbury says 'shame is ours' as she apologises for Church of England role in forced adoptions

The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for the "pain, trauma and stigma" caused by the Church of England's role in historical forced adoptions.

Dame Sarah Mullally said the impact for many people had been "lifelong" and told survivors: "You have nothing to be ashamed of, the shame is ours."

An estimated 185,000 babies of unmarried mothers were adopted in England and Wales between 1949 and 1976.

The Church of England (CoE) said it did not know exactly how many of these it was involved with.

However, it believes it's likely that tens of thousands of mothers and babies were in around 200 CoE-linked homes during that period.

The apology comes a day after the government confirmed it would be saying sorry for the state's role in the adoptions, with Sir Keir Starmer expected to make a statement in the Commons.

In her message, Dame Sarah said: "We are profoundly sorry for the pain, trauma and stigma experienced - and still carried - by many people because of historical adoption practices in homes affiliated to the Church of England.

"We have heard first-hand the accounts of mothers who were separated from their babies in circumstances where they had very few meaningful choices."

"We are listening to the voices of people affected," she added.

"They have told us about the pain, shame and indignity experienced both then and now. Today, we say to each of you: the shame you were made to feel was wrong.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, we are deeply ashamed that this happened to people in the care of Christian communities."

'Not a meaningful apology'

The Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA) called the archbishop's statement the "first step on a long road to redemption" and "an opportunity for the Church to hang its head in shame and fully accept responsibility".

However, the Adult Adoptee Movement (AAM) said it was "not a meaningful apology" and there had been "no recognition of the specific harms".

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Compensation could be paid to those affected - ranging from £5,000 to £660,000 in the most serious cases - via a Church of England scheme expected to open by the end of the year.

The CoE said decisions on eligibility would be on a case-by-case basis.

The devolved governments in Wales and Scotland previously apologised over historical forced adoptions, but campaigners have long pushed for Westminster to do the same.

A decade ago, the then head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales also apologised over the scandal.

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