Reform’s Sarah Pochin breaks down in tears in Parliament as she reveals her mother was forced to give up her baby

Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin broke down in tears as she revealed that her mother was forced to give up her baby.

The MP for Runcorn and Helsby emotionally told the Commons that her mother was pressured into giving up her baby for adoption in a matter that was “handled by the church”.

“I only found out after her death – she carried her secret to her grave,” she said on Thursday (2 July).

She explained that attempts to try and find her brother proved challenging, though they are now reunited.

It came as Sir Keir Starmer issued a formal apology for historic forced adoption, which he called a “stain on our country”. From the 1950s to 1970s, an estimated 185,000 babies were taken from their mothers after being pressured to do so because they were unmarried.

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