Savannah Laurent represented the local authority in a case concerning 2 children, a 12-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother.
The local authority brought proceedings as it was concerned the mother was:
- causing her children to believe that they had physical and mental disabilities that they did not
- manipulating numerous professionals to disguise the children’s abilities, and
- taking steps to undermine the professionals’ work with the family and the children’s interim placements.
The father had made a separate child arrangements application as he had not seen his children for several years. In response, the mother claimed he had subjected her to severe physical and sexual abuse.
At the conclusion of a 10-day final hearing of the consolidated applications, Savannah secured 21 findings against the mother. On the local authority’s behalf, she also helped agree with the father and the guardian a care and contact plan for the 2 children.
The judge made a s91(14) order to prevent the mother making further applications to the court without its permission. She found the mother’s allegations against the father to be false and malicious.
Read the judgment in full in A Local Authority v EF & Ors [2023] EWFC 178