A dad has taken his campaign to end forced adoptions to the European Parliament.

Sutton man Terence Steele, 42, had his two-year-old daughter taken away from him earlier this year but believes the process by which she was taken away was flawed.

He has launched a campaign to get European law changed to give more rights to parents in cases where children could be taken away by the authorities and, earlier this month, led a delegation of people from all over the continent to deliver a 10,000 signature petition.

Mr Steele, of Brunswick Road, said: "We're trying to force the UK to abolish forced adoption. My daughter has been taken away against her wishes.

"I feel like the process is not weighted in favour of the people it affects.

"What we want is for the EU to force the UK Parliament to launch an investigation into local authorities' practices. These are already happening in other European countries like Denmark.

"If there are good reasons why parents shouldn't be able to look after their kids then they need to be backed up by medical evidence."

During his trip to Brussels he appeared on Russian and Latvian TV to talk about the protest and said he hoped the attention would spur the UK into acting.

Mr Steele last saw his daughter in January to say a final goodbye. He added: "It was horrible. I screamed the place down."

He said his situation is not isolated and that since he found himself battling for custody of his child he has found that many more people are in a similar position, prompting his campaign.

Mr Steele said: "It's happening all over the place, it's terrible."


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