The Mother
32.The mother gave oral evidence through an interpreter. She was unable to confirm her witness statement which had been prepared in English and signed by her. A translator had appended a signed statement saying that they had translated the statement to the mother, reading it out, and that she had confirmed the statement. The means of adducing a statement from a witness who does not read or write English was set out by Peter Jackson J in NN v ZZ and ors [2013] EWHC 2261, in which he said that a statement by a non-English-speaking witness must be prepared in the witness' own language before being translated into English. This, he said was implicit in FPR PD22A, para 8.2, which provides thatWhere the affidavit/statement is in a foreign language –(a) the party wishing to rely on it must –(i) have it translated; and(ii) must file the foreign language affidavit/statement with the court; and(b) the translator must sign the translation to certify that it is accurate.In the present case the mother could not recall the statement being read out to her in Urdu and so could not formally confirm her statement. This lead to the need for extended examination in chief and the costs of preparing the statement were wasted.33.The mother was steadfast in her denial that R had ever spoken to her about her allegations against T. No such conversation had ever taken place and she had not witnessed any row during which R had confronted T with the allegations. The first she knew of the allegations was on 7 June 2021 when told of them by the police. She said that had she been aware of the allegations earlier she would have talked to R and T and then gone to the police herself. The allegations would have brought dishonour on the family but she would not have kept them within the family. She was asked whether she believed the allegations and said that she could not accept what she had not seen. Whilst she also said that one or other of her children must be lying she was happy for it to be recorded that her view was that if she had not seen it she could not believe it. The mother told me that she had a very close relationship with R, that she had not noticed any change in R’s mood in the months leading up to 7 June 2021 (when R herself told the police she was feeling suicidal at times) and that she thought that R seemed happy within the family and at home. She said that R had never joked about T going to jail and she could not recall any occasion when the father had talked about those who dishonoured their families ending up at the bottom of a lake. 34.The mother became tearful when contemplating the break-up of her family and the absence of her daughter. I asked her why she thought that the daughter she knew so well should do what she did, given the enormous consequences for R, T and the whole family. She could not offer any explanation. She said it was a surprise to her. When the police asked her a similar question she had said that perhaps R was suffering a mental illness.35.The mother and father have engaged with Social Services and have followed advice. They have co-operated with the police.