F v M

This judgment was handed down remotely at 10.30am on 20 June 2025 by circulation to the parties or their representatives by e-mail.

                  This case concerns a very long-running dispute between two parents, the father ("F") and the mother, ("M"). There are four children concerned: 'A' a boy aged 13, 'B' a girl aged 12, 'C' a boy aged 10, and 'D' a boy aged 8. The parents separated in 2018 and the children have been subject to proceedings for most of the time since then. The current proceedings started in 2022 and are currently in week 117.

                  The F was represented before me by Ms Hewitt, the M by Ms Scott and the Children's Guardian by Ms McKenzie.

                  These proceedings have been subject to 2 earlier judgments, one by Recorder Coles dated 7 February 2024 and another given by me on 29 January 2025. Both those judgments should be read together with this one for the full history of this matter.

                  As I have said, the parents separated in 2018 and proceedings started shortly thereafter. Between 2018 and March 2025 the children lived with their mother and the proceedings focused on trying to establish regular contact with the F. My understanding is that there was reasonably regular contact up until the outbreak of the Covid pandemic in early 2020. However, since then it has proved enormously difficult to establish regular contact.