FD24P00857 - [2025] EWHC 835 (Fam)

The father says that the mother told him on 17 April 2024 that she had the opportunity of temporarily moving to London for a short term project, which would end in November 2024 at which stage the family would return to Italy. The father’s evidence is that the mother said that her employer would fund the rent, nursery fees, a nanny, cleaning and return tickets for the family. The children arrived in London on 21 April 2024 and were enrolled in a nursery. The father commuted backwards and forwards between London and Italy for work. The father thought the nursery was paid for until November but subsequently discovered a full year deposit was paid by the mother.

The father was made redundant in July 2024. He says he took on the sole care of the children.

The father states he only ever agreed to a temporary move to England with a return to Italy in November 2024. The father asserts the children were habitually resident in Italy at the point they moved to London temporarily on 21 April 2024. He describes a happy married life and the busy social lives the children enjoyed. He explains the mother registered herself as a ‘resident’ in a rural region of Italy where the family had a second home, for tax reasons.

He states the mother informed him on 17 April 2024 that she had been offered a temporary position in London on a fixed term project until November 2024, with an immediate start. He agreed to the temporary move. He supports this with the following evidential points: i. they took no steps to sell or rent their city home; ii. the mother’s conversation with the London local authority which carried out a safeguarding investigation; iii. he asked the Italian social services not to close their investigation; iv he emailed various people in July 2024 informing them the move would be until November 2024; v. his WhatsApp messages with Mr E.

The father asserts the mother’s move was premeditated to engineer a move to England and he points out there are a number of matters he only became aware of in December 2024, which demonstrate she was planning to retain the children. These include matters like: the mother’s visit to the British Consulate in July 2023; paying for storage in London from February 2024 and a report to a domestic abuse adviser in September 2023; and various February 2024 payments to nurseries and estate agents in London.

The father says that when he was made redundant he never sought a new job in London, looking only in Italy. He considered it was good for the children to attend nursery and disagrees this was to settle them here with a view to them becoming habitually resident or to attend school. He says the first time he was aware of the London local authority child and family assessment (which began 1 August 2024) was as part of the non-molestation injunction application, dated 5 December 2024. He explains that the mother did not cooperate with him for the children to be returned to Italy in December and that eventually he was required to issue proceedings. He explains that the wife’s brother tried to provoke him and instigate an argument when they visited in February 2025. He says he left the flat in February 2025 because his brother in law was threatening and was not contacted by the police.

He denies nearly all of the allegations of domestic abuse. He sets out the protective measures he agrees with.

The father gave evidence in person. His evidence was straightforwardly given. He accepted he agreed to children flying to UK on 21 April 2024. He says the reason they came was for a short term project. It was not a holiday. He said his job was not coming to an end. He stated he did not discuss voluntary redundancy before 21 April 2024. He only received formal notice of this on 2 July 2024 and there was no prior discussion before his redundancy agreement.

He said the mother asked him to support her graduate degree and to pay around £ 30, 000. His evidence was that he loved her and wanted to support her career. He agreed he asked her to work and that was because in his opinion she needed to work as she was struggling with the kids. It was not because of any job difficulties he experienced. He discovered much later the mother had paid for a real estate agent for the flat in London and children’s nursery at a much earlier point.

He said that on 17 April 2024, out of blue, she told him she had a job opportunity, a project, if it was successful and they would come back at the end of the project in November. He denied the mother had told him about a job in London in March. He said: “It was one strong moment on 17 April. She did not give me enough notice. She told me we had to leave in four days. I was resisting this…... I said we had to discuss as mature people…. We agreed a temporary move to UK for the project.” He said they agreed the move to London on the day after, as he had to discuss with his work. He said the mother told him her company had taken care of costs such as nursery.

When asked by Mr Anderson “Did you ask her how long she was planning this?” he responded that he had not and whilst he initially thought there was not enough time to move he agreed as it was important for her career. He was trying to be flexible but he was clear his job was in Italy and they would return in November. He says the mother never said she hoped the project would be extended or that the project would run until the end of the year with a decision in October as to whether it would be extended. She told him the end date was November on 17 April 2024. He accepts he did not correct the impression the role was more open ended when the mother informed Italian social services of this. He says this was because she was present and he did not want to upset her.

In respect of aletter from A nursery where the children attend, the father said he could not recall signing it but accepted it was his signature. He was confused about the documents as he was primarily only interested in the mother’s position as to consent for vaccinations. He was not aware these forms led to a place at a certain prep school. He denied a form for A Nursery contained the last sentence referencing a Prep school, when it was signed by him.

In respect of an incident of physical abuse in April 2024 he said: “of course we had problems….I feel guilty of situation…not the first time [the mother] would not hand over the child…he had been crying for half an hour..[S] crying as he wanted to be with dad…that situation frustrated me….I grabbed her and moved her away. I didn’t push her to the wall..”