Bill set to curb sale of children

Tougher controls on overseas adoption are expected after the Government indicated it would back a private member's bill to be published this week.

The bill would make it an offence to bring a child into Britain without prior approval, following concern over the abduction, sale and trafficking of children from developing countries and eastern Europe.

The measure would also enable Britain to ratify the Hague convention on inter-country adoption. Although Britain signed the treaty in 1994, it has faced criticism for failing to pass the legislation necessary for ratification.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, who will introduce the bill, said: "Almost five years is too long to wait and, with Government support, I am glad to have the chance to put that right."

Concern about inter-country adoption came to a head about 10 years ago with a number of cases involving Romanian children.

Gill Haworth, chief executive of the Overseas Adoption Helpline, said her charity and its predecessor had dealt with 17,000 inquiries since 1992.

The majority of adopters want to do things by the book. "But until there are effective services in place, regulated by a proper legal framework, there are reasons why some people will continue to go outside the procedures and take a risk," she said.

Mr Oaten added: "Sadly, there are too many examples of children from overseas being placed with inappropriate people and, worse still, examples of children being abducted and sold."

The bill would stop people taking children from other countries without prior approval of suitability as adoptive parents.

It would also amend the British Nationality Act so that children adopted under the terms of the convention would automatically receive citizenship if one adoptive parent was British.

It is envisaged that the bill would lead to the creation of central authorities and accredited bodies to liaise with agencies in the children's countries of origin.

Felicity Collier, director of British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering, said: "This will enable us to work towards a position where all inter-country adoptions are made through government-approved agencies, and children are only adopted by families from outside their country of origin when it is clear that they cannot be placed with a family in their own country."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health confirmed that the bill had the Government's blessing.

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