[2025] EWHC 911 (Fam)

It is plain from the evidence I have seen that within days of her arrival in the USA, G was sending messages to her mother making clear that she was very unhappy and that she wanted to return to England. It is not clear to me when the first such message was sent. An exchange by WhatsApp on 4 September 2024 demonstrates that by this date G had already made known that she wanted to return to England and that the father and his wife were preventing this from happening. That day, G wrote to her mother: ‘can u tell [the father’s wife] to send me back she just tried to start an entire state police search now she’s tryna send me to a boarding school it’s her that won’t let me leave not daddy he doesn’t rlly care’.

On 5 September 2024 G reported to her mother that she had called the police who said that ‘it didn’t sound right what daddy was saying to me’ and that they would send an officer round. That same day, the mother was herself in communication with the Westport police about her daughter’s situation.

In an exchange of messages between G and the father on or around 12 September 2024 he wrote ‘if Mummy says you are to return to the UK, it is she that has to make the application. I can’t fly to the UK to make the application (or for any other reason). She needs to attend court, which I cannot do’.

Throughout September 2024 G continued to make it clear to her mother that she wanted to return to England. For example, on 20 September 2024 she wrote: ‘tbf what else could go wrong there’s literally nothing.. cos when I get back ill have my [best friend] my [other best friend] theres literally nothing that can go wrong’. On 23 September 2024 she wrote about how she had spoken to her counsellor about ‘what daddy’s doing’.

It also appears that G was seeking to enlist the help of the US police to facilitate her return. In one message to her mother sent around this time, she wrote: ‘he’s so mad… he knows there’s nothing he can do about it n he actually shit himself when I said police r gunna help me get to the airport n stuff I was just like u can either support me or I’ll do it alone..’ She later wrote to her mother that the police would require sight of a court order to enable her to leave.

From the evidence I have seen, it appears that the father had represented to G that he did not have her passport as it had been provided to the immigration authorities. G, however, came across the passport and challenged her father about what he had told her. In his skeleton argument prepared for this appeal, the father says that on 7 October 2024 he reported to the Passport Office that G’s passport had been destroyed by him and notified them that no further passport should be issued to her.

The statement filed by the mother pursuant to the order made on 22 October 2024 exhibits some hand written letters from G. These are largely illegible in the PDF bundle I have. In one letter, however, I can see that G described herself as being ‘physically and mentally alone’. It is apparent from that letter that her relationship with her father had broken down and that she has lost all trust in him. She refers to returning from school ‘to find my passport ripped up and ruined’.

I have also seen a typed undated ‘statement’ from G in which she paints a very bleak picture of life in the USA (I am unclear whether this is a typed version of one of her letters or some other document). She makes clear her wish to leave the USA and to return to England and refers to ‘misleading information’ given by her father. She also provides a worrying account of being cared for by her father in England prior to the move to the USA. She refers to an occasion when she took cocaine at home with his knowledge.

In this undated statement, G says: ‘Before my current move to the United States I was led to believe that I would be living in an apartment with just the three of us (my sister, my father, and I). I was aware we would be living with [the father’s wife] eventually once we got to know her and where (sic) more comfortable around her.’ She then proceeds to describe how the reality of what occurred was wholly different from that which she had been led to believe. From the outset she found herself living at the father’s wife’s home occupying her step-sister’s room and, in her view, being poorly treated. She says: ‘[the father’s wife] and her family made no effort to welcome me, instead made it clear I was not welcome. Throughout that time I was experiencing intense withdrawal symptoms such as migraines, depression, paranoia, anxiety and throwing up blood…’. Later in the statement says: ‘I have previously attempted to run away since being in the United States due to neglect I was previously and currently experiencing. I rarely get fed, and I only eat when I cook for myself which I have to do at night so no one sees me (fear of getting into trouble) I get so scared to the point I have started experiencing hearing voices/noises and seeing things that aren’t there like shadows, just scared that I will be stuck here alone for the rest of my life’. Thereafter, the statement continues in the same vein.

I have also been provided with a further more recent statement from G which is to the same effect. The statement appears to post-date the decision of HHJ Raeside below, but it seems to me that in circumstances where the appeal concerns the position of a child and this piece of evidence was not available at the time of the decision, I am entitled to take it into account (the same applies to other recent evidence to which I refer below). The statement concludes as follows:

“I have felt many emotions these past months they have only gotten worse When I first arrived I felt betrayed guilty hopeless and insane Those feelings have never left me except sometimes I just feel numb now I get headaches/migraines stomach ache achy muscles from stress and paranoia that something will happen to me every day Those feelings get deeper and deeper.

I have written so many statements these past months putting my entire heart on the table just to have it crushed every single time So please if you took the time to read this I am forever thankful to you for giving me one last hope Please help me reunite with my family my home my education my country and the people I love and care deeply about thank you for your time.”

It is clear from the evidence I have seen that G’s unhappiness about being in the USA was not a passing phase. The mother asserts that in January 2025 G made a further suicide attempt although I have not seen evidence to corroborate this. There is, however, evidence that G has set up a ‘Gofundme’ page seeking to raise funds to assist her return to the UK. Since September 2024, she has also sent further worrying texts to her mother about her situation. In one message she said that she would kill herself if not back by Christmas.

I have also been provided with a record of a meeting convened on 28 February 2025 by the Westport School District Planning and Placement Team. I do not think that this was provided to HHJ Raeside, but I consider that I should take it into account. This document records the father telling the meeting that ‘the first 2-3 months were challenging for G to integrate at home and school’. He had, however, seen marked improvement and ‘overall she seems happier’. One of the teachers present at the meeting, Mrs F, noted that ‘G always knows what she wants to work on but is not working on [school] assignments. She is trying to do work she thinks will transfer to the UK. She is following online guide for UK curriculum so looks engaged but is not on task with her current work.’ The father stated that ‘G is focused on returning to the UK but she does not know there are barriers to her returning. Her mother in the UK is giving her the message that she can return’. The school counsellor reported to the meeting that G attends weekly counselling but also ‘stops in at least two other times’. During those sessions, G ‘is preoccupied with wanting to return to the UK. She can be emotional about it. She talks quickly and her speech is pressured’.

I have also seen a report from the Westport Police Department dated 30 March 2025 in relation to a call out they received to the father’s home on that date. This was not available to HHJ Raeside, but again I consider that I am entitled to take it into account. It appears that G had become upset after being told by the father that she would not be able to travel to England for some considerable time due to an issue with her passport. G responded by damaging the father’s laptop with a knife. She yelled at her father and step-mother before running to her room. The police officer observed G to be crying hysterically. She said to the officer that her father had told her that she would have to wait until she was an adult before applying for a passport. The officer calmed G down and gave her advice about managing her anger. The officer then spoke again to the father and his wife who stated that their preference was for G to be sent to hospital for an evaluation. When asked for their reason they stated ‘to get a break from her’. When the officer informed them that committal was a serious process to be used only for individuals requiring immediate medical assistance due to safety concerns, the father and his wife asserted that they did not feel safe with G and wished for her to be transported to hospital. The report states that the officers assessed the situation and ‘determined that G’s parents’ (sic) request for a hospital transport was not based on a genuine desire for safety but rather a desire for a temporary separation from G’.