Found these 2 items in this week's Sunday Mercury:
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They were desperate
A MIDLAND couple whose baby daughter was taken into care by social services have snatched her back again - and fled to Bangladesh. Friends of Mumtaz and Dilda Ali say that they were heartbroken after being branded potential baby-killers and took a desperate route out.
Their three year-old daughter, Carma, had been put up for adoption after a lengthy High Court battle last year.
Experts claimed that Mumtaz, 21, showed symptoms of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy (MSBP) and posed an 'extreme risk' to her child.
Doctors said she had tried to smother Carma at least four times, but Mumtaz and Dilda insisted their daughter suffered from breathing problems which run in both their families.
In December the parents, from Hockley in Birmingham, lost a final appeal to win Carma back and all hope seemed to have been lost.
But in a shocking twist, they discovered where the little girl was being cared for by foster parents and launched a dramatic mission to abduct her.
Just three days later they fled Britain and are now believed to be hiding in a remote part of Bangladesh with relatives.
Last night, a source said: 'This is a huge own-goal for social services. There are massive question marks over how the parents managed to track down the fostering address before abducting Carma.
'Then there is the issue over how they managed to leave the country three days later, when all ports and airports should have been on full alert.
'Someone, somewhere, has made a major blunder and it wouldbeamazing if therewasnot a full inquiry into how this has happened.'
Mumtaz and Dilda's story began in 2001, when Carma was born. Former double-glazing salesman Dilda, now 23, married Mumtaz after their daughter's birth, causing a family rift.
But within months, Carma developed breathing problems and was rushed to hospital four times in just three months.
Her symptoms included shortness of breath, sweating and vomiting.
Doctors took Carma in for observation, but Mumtaz and Dilda were stunned when they were told they were under investigation.
Paediatricians alleged that Mumtaz was suffering from MSBP - a condition first diagnosed by discredited child-death expert Professor Sir RoyMeadow. Parents affected by the syndrome are said to fabricate their child's illness, resulting in unnecessary hospital admissions or even deaths.
Yet neither Mumtaz nor her husband were ever quizzed by police about the treatment of their daughter.
Theyhave pointed to a history of breathing problems in their family, which has resulted in an astonishing 24 infant deaths in four generations.
But despite a compelling dossier of evidence, Mumtaz and Dilda failed to stop Carma being taken into care.
They launched a court fight to win her back, but the last of their appeals was turned down at a High Court hearing last December.
A source close to the family told the Mercury: 'Mumtaz and Dilda were desperate to get their baby back and they have taken the extreme option to do just that.
'They had been attacked by a system which gave them no chance of a fair hearing and they were at their wits' end.
'We've heard they found out where Carma was and went there to get her back on the evening of December 27.
'There is a suggestion that the foster parents were restrained in somewaywhileCarmawas taken. 'Mumtaz and Dilda are then thought to have left the country three days later. How they did that we don't know, but they have been out of contact since then.
'We think they have gone to Bangladesh, where their family comes from originally.
'It is a terrible situation and it cannot be right. But this is what happens in a country where the courts deliberately split families apart in an unjust way.'
In her last interview, given to the Sunday Mercury in March,2003, Mumtaz told of her heartbreak at losing her daughter.
'All I ever wanted was to have Carma back in my life,' she said. 'It is the most painful feeling you can imagine - the lack of hope. We have come so far and all along I have said that I never, ever, tried to kill my baby.'
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: 'Police and Birmingham City Council Social Services Department, the child's legal guardians, are concerned for her welfare and safety and want to appeal for her return.
'It is thought she may be with her natural parents, who have no legal rights to have the child, and they may have left the country. There is an ongoing police investigation to try to find the girl and her family.'
Birmingham City Council refused to comment.
The names of the couple and child have been changed for legal reasons.
Mum may have second child taken away
A MOTHER branded a child killer by social services but never charged with any offence is facing the heartbreak of having a second baby taken from her.
Karen Haynes and her husband Mark have been monitored in a specialist security unit by social workers and medics since she gave birth to their daughter, Amy, six months ago.
Their first child, Emma, was taken from them under a child protection order just 20 minutes after being born in 2000 and has since been adopted, denying them all access.
Social workers had suspected that Karen, 36, had killed her firstborn child, Michael, yet she has never been arrested or charged with any offence.
Now the Haynes - who believe their son's death was linked to a controversial drug he was prescribed - face a family court hearing on February 25 to see if their new baby will be taken from them, too.
A family friend said: 'They have spent the last six months bonding with their baby at the unit to prove they are good parents. I don't know what it will do to them if she is taken away from them.
'Karen has never been prosecuted for the death of Michael, so how dare social services make these assumptions against her without any proof?
'If she had been convicted and jailed shewould probably be out by now and have been re-united with Emma. Instead, it is as though she is serving a sentence, anyway.'
She added: 'Karen and Mark agreed to move into the security unit with Amy, where they are monitored 24/7. They have had to move out of their family home. They have done everything asked of them by social services.'
Birmingham MP Sion Smith is supporting Karen and Mark's fight to keep Amy.
'What this couple have been through is indefensible,' he said. 'The secrecy surrounding these cases under the veil of the family courts is outrageous.
'I am trying to set up a meeting with the head of Birmingham council to sort this out. I completely support the couple's bid to keep their child.'
Penny Mellor, a Wolverhampton campaigner for parents wrongly accused of harming their children, said: 'I am horrified that yet again it would appear social services are failing in their duty to care for a child.
'If they really cared about families and children, they would get to the truth of Michael's death.'
Speaking about her unplanned pregnancy to the Sunday Mercury last year, Karen said: 'We are over the moon but very nervous because of what happened before.'
Medical experts, including the discredited Professor Roy Meadow, investigated the death of baby Michael, who died at four months old in 1999.
Before his death he had been prescribed Cisapride, a drug linked to 136 deaths worldwide and which has since been withdrawn from sale in the UK.
Despite social services suspicions that Karen was involved in the death of Michael, she has never faced a criminal prosecution. The couple are still awaiting a full inquest into Michael's death.
The names of the couple and their children have been changed for legal reasons.
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Also a reminder that "Cherished" (the BBC drama based on the Angela Cannings story) will be screened 9pm next Tuesday (February 22).