Drug addict father allowed by courts 'to take toddler daughter on drug deals'

A mother has said her toddler was taken on a ‘drug deal’ by her father who has been granted unsupervised overnight access by a family court.

An investigation by the Victoria Derbyshire show has revealed that, in the past five years, four children have been killed while on unsupervised access with fathers who have a history of domestic violence.

Speaking on the programme via an actor, ‘Lucy’ says her ex has a 20-year crack addiction and will become violent if she refuses to give him money for drugs.

She told the programme: “He’s got numerous convictions, it’s just not safe in his flat with drugs everywhere.

“Assault, battery, possession, he was jailed for drink driving.

“Everyone thinks ‘no court is going to send a child to spend time with a criminal drug addict’, but they do. It just defies all logic, it’s just contact at all costs.

“The judge decided there’s no reason why he can’t have unsupervised overnight contact, like addiction is no longer an issue.

“All he had to do was sign a piece of paper that says he won’t use for 24 hours prior to or during contact.

“It’s ridiculous, he’s not even sticking to it. I have to send her there and abide by the court order or I’m breaking the law.

“When I pick her up, she’d be really vacant in her expression.

“It happened a couple of times and then I realised it was because she’s stoned. I could smell cannabis on her.

“Another time she told me that her dad had got her up in the night, put a coat over her pyjamas and they went out in a white van to buy sweets, but they weren’t sweets for her.

“From the way she described it, that was a drug deal. But I’ve got no proof except the word of a toddler.

“Every time something happens, I report it to all and sundry, the police, social services, GPs, so there’s a trail.

“But again, the court confirmed the unsupervised access. It’s like they see the greatest risk to my daughter is emotional damage because her parents don’t get along.

“That is not the greatest risk. You’re sending my daughter to unsafe contact with a drug addict.”

Family courts have a large number of restrictions in place to protect the wellbeing of children, therefore documents cannot be seen and what is said in the court cannot be reported.

Labour's shadow policing minister, Louise Haigh MP, said it was "horrifying that even in proven cases of sexual assault, severe domestic abuse, rape, murder in some cases, men are still being encouraged and granted access to their child".

She added: "If they're a known risk to mother or child, then we need to assume that contact probably isn't best for the child and grant it only in certain circumstances."

More than 120 MPs have signed a letter to Justice Secretary David Gauke to call for an independent inquiry into the family courts and review their handling of these cases.