‘White Christian’ girl and her Muslim grandmother have warm relationship with former foster carer

The Guardian reports on the continuing saga surrounding the five-year-old child at the centre of the Tower Hamlets foster story case.

Earlier in August, The Times newspaper ran a front-cover story with the misleading headline “Christian child forced into Muslim foster care”. Following the outcry around the Times’ biased reporting of the story, MEND organised an action alert and submitted a complaint to IPSO based on the inaccuracy of the Times’ reporting.

In the latest hearing on the case at the East London family court, it was revealed that the Muslim foster carers had provided “warm and appropriate” care to the girl, who was missing one of the foster carers.

Judge Sapnara Khatun read extracts from the Tower Hamlets report inquiry, which interviewed the child, her maternal grandmother and a social worker. Commenting on the council’s report, Judge Khatun stated that the findings were a “very interesting and robust” defence against the Times allegations.

“The maternal grandmother is dismissive of the concerns and upset by them. The child’s maternal grandmother ‘in fact has a warm relationship with one of the foster carers – as does the child’.”

Judge Khatun also stated that the report addresses all allegations, making for “very interesting reading”, and provides an “alternative narrative” to the Times story.

Monday’s hearing revealed that the child was of dual nationality, and was christened but not taken to church by her mother or anybody else. The court also heard that the child’s maternal grandparents are Muslim and pray at home.

The judge has given the council until Friday to draw up a redacted version of the report. The girl’s mother, who is fighting for custody of the child and appealing her criminal conviction, disputes the findings.