B and S (Children)

Miss J Ecob, Counsel, instructed by Hepburn Delaney Solicitors for the 1 st Respondent

Mr G Crawley , Counsel, instructed by Attwaters Solicitors for the 2 nd Respondent

Miss R Kang, Counsel, instructed by Sills & Betteridge Solicitors for the 3 rd and 4 th Respondents

The names of the children and the adult parties in this judgment have been anonymised, pursuant to the Practice Guidance of the President of the Family Division issued in December 2018 having regard to the implications for the children of placing personal details and information in the public domain. The anonymity of the children and members of their family must be strictly preserved. All persons must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of court.

This Court is concerned with the welfare of a five-year-old boy (�B�) and a 2-year-old girl (�S�). Their mother is �M.� The person named by the mother as B�s father has not been traced. The mother tells the Court that she believes he is deceased. �F� is the father of S. He is the step-father of B. I will refer to F as the father of both children throughout for reasons of simplicity. ��