Lord Justice McFarlane, presenting a written judgment in the Court of Appeal three months ago, said the mother had ‘doggedly refused to allow M to develop and maintain a relationship with her father without any good reason whatsoever’. M expressed a wish to see her father as recently as February 2012, and in 2007 even spent several months living with him while her mother was in hospital. But recently her position has ‘hardened’. The judgment revealed that since 2006 there had been 82 court orders for contact, seven judges had handled the case, and at least ten social workers had represented the girl.
Lord Justice McFarlane added: ‘This is an unimpeachable father against whom no adverse findings of fact have been made at any stage in this process and whose demeanour before this court was dignified and measured despite the enormous frustration and anger he must feel.’ The judge, who was sitting with Lord Justice Briggs and Lord Justice Aikens, said the mother had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, paranoid traits and occasional depression.
Lord Justice McFarlane added: ‘These have not been helped by occasions when she has abused alcohol and illicit drugs.’ At one stage, he said, the mother had been found to have hidden knives in her bag. Lord Justice Aikens added: ‘The family justice system has failed the whole family, but particularly M, whose childhood has been irredeemably marred by years of litigation.’