Maybe baby?

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql8nz4nyp7o

Such a strange case. The GP saw the woman while she was supposedly pregnant but was not aware of her pregnancy; there is no record of the child(ren) being born - and yet apparently she gave birth to one or perhaps two babies who are living with their uncle!

I wonder how children can be born in the 21st century, in a private hospital in the UK, and yet there is no official record of their birth. Surely that can't be possible? And if the babies do exist, how do they get medical care, a school place, a job (in the future) if they don't legally exist?

That’s absolutely mad. Thanks for sharing.

I've just been reading and it's the strangest thing I've ever read.

Born in private hospital, under a false name?

It is totally bizarre.

There was a TV documentary (one of those police ones... Missing or similar title) where a man reported his child missing, but it turned out the child had never existed, the Mother had been borrowing a child to get maintenance payments.b

Read this earlier. So strange. Also agree with the judge comments about lack of representation making it impossible for case to be properly heard.

A patient's GP not being informed can happen. It appears to be undisputed that the woman in this case underwent cancer treatment for 2 years but this is not in her medical records.

The information in the judgement suggests that she used private healthcare throughout and told them not to inform her GP or the NHS. Indeed, she seems to have sent emails to a private hospital asking for confirmation that her records had been deleted as requested. It also appears that, rather than using the services of a private hospital direct, she used private consultants and a private midwife who used the hospital. This would have reduced the amount of information the hospital had on her.

When the baby or babies were born (assuming that is what happened), she would have been given the paperwork she needed to take to the registrar to register the birth, but if she simply didn't do so there would be no official record.

If there is a baby, I'd be asking why the mother has gone to such lengths to conceal them from their father. To keep them safe? What's the history here?

She married someone from a different caste. Her brothers didn't approve and thought he had married her for money. There were then issues, culminating in her falsely accusing his father of being a child molester. She moved out about 3 months after marrying, then moved back in, then left again.

She accuses him of coercive and controlling behaviour. The evidence certainly shows that he has at times been abusive and has controlled her, at least since they separated. She was initially open about her pregnancy in a series of calls, telling him when the twins were born, giving their names and weights, and telling him they looked like him. However, after saying he was going to see them, she changed her mind and started to insist that there were no children. She now claims that she made up the pregnancy to help her escape the relationship and that he orchestrated and controlled the calls.

Some of his evidence is false and the judge suspects he has forged some WhatsApp conversations and documents that were submitted as evidence. However, some of her evidence is also false, and it seems she was in touch with a private hospital, trying to ensure that they had destroyed any records relating to her.

The whole thing is somewhat bizarre.

Yes, the ex-husband sounds unpleasant and I can see why she might be reluctant to have him in the boys' lives. But idea of her having two little boys and there being no official record of them makes my safeguarding hairs stand on end...not because I think she personally wouldn't look after them properly, but as a general point of principle for all children.

If when the baby was born, she was texting the father etc, why wouldn't she then register the birth properly? That is a pretty essential step and at the time, she had no reason not to.

So maybe she is telling the truth.

I can see how it could happen. A home birth, and then just not register the birth. Do private GPs need to see a birth certificate if they needed health care? I don't think the private dentist who saw my DS cared who he was. The issue would come with getting a passport and registering for a school (I'm assuming private schools want to see a birth certificate like state schools do)

I can also see how this happens with a home

Its a bizarre story though.

The judge decided against her, mainly on two pieces of evidence.

First, there was a therapist who did not appear to have any axe to grind and who had been critical of the father in her early statements, but who testified that the mother visited her in February accompanied by a toddler who called her "mummy".

Second, there was evidence from a private hospital that showed the mother contacted them repeatedly in recent months, trying to ensure that her medical records were destroyed.

Prior to that evidence emerging, the judge would have ruled against the father. However, the availability of that evidence led the judge to conclude that there is at least one child.

You say registering the birth is pretty essential. There are no immediate major consequences if you don't. Within one month of the date the mother had previously given for their birth, she was denying the existence of any children.

She may be telling the truth, but it is clear from the evidence that neither she nor her ex is being completely truthful. On the evidence available, I'm with the judge.

I read the judgement it says the gp had telephone calls with the respondent no face to face meeting. It also says she's from a wealthy background so I assume she's covered this up quite well. Still needs investigating

I thought this at first perhaps the mother was using domestic abuse as an excuse. But then I read the judgement in full and the judge herself said she witnessed the abuse in the court room and it was pitiful. Either way a child or children have been taken off radar it should be looked in to