Shortly before a High Court trial in the matter was due to begin, Thames Valley Police have made a substantial settlement in costs and damages to the mother of two children abducted by their father in April 1998, when they were just 2 and 3 years old.
The mother brought proceedings under the Human Rights Act which stated that the failure to properly investigate the abduction over a period of more than 15 years amounted to a breach of her rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It was also part of her claim that the police failed to treat the abduction as a crime because of her ethnicity.
Carolynn Gallwey of Bhatt Murphy acted for the claimant.
