§ 28. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what precautions are taken to ensure adequate legal safeguards for British-born infants taken abroad by foreign nationals other than parents or near relatives.
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeIt is an offence to transfer, for legal or de facto adoption, the care and possession of a British child to a foreign national resident outside Great Britain other than a parent, guardian or near relative of the child.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonAlthough the law on the subject is quite clear, is the Home Secretary aware that—as was revealed in the recent Kavanagh prosecution—it might be only too easy in less desirable circumstances for parents to arrange for their child to be taken abroad, on the pretext of a holiday or some other pretext, and, in that way, completely to sidestep all the laws that we have carefully devised for the protection of children?
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeThe prosecution which the hon. and gallant Gentleman mentioned should give publicity to the state of the law. I have no evidence that there is frequent disregard of that law.