Christian girl in Tower Hamlets Muslim foster case to live with grandmother following court ruling
Judge Khatun Sapnara has ordered that the girl should live with a family member
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A five-year-old, white, Christian girl, who, along with her biological family, was reportedly distressed at being placed into a Muslim foster home, will be sent to live with her grandmother following a court ruling.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly placed into foster care by social workers in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets.
Sent to live with two Muslim families in six months, one family allegedly suggested she should remove her necklace bearing a cross and learn Arabic, The Times reported.
Confidential local authority reports on the case seen by the newspaper alleged the girl was “very distressed” and had begged not to return to the family as “they don’t speak English”.
Local authorities are required to consider a child’s religion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background when placing within foster care.
The London borough of Tower Hamlets claimed there were "inaccuracies" in the reporting of the story.
It said the girl had been fostered in a temporary placement with an English speaking family of mixed race.
Following the ruling, Debbie Jones, corporate director of Children's Services at Tower Hamlets, said she was pleased the council's proposal to have the child cared for my a familiy member had been approved, adding: "Once the decision was taken to place the child into temporary care, we had to find the best placement available at the time.
“While cultural background is always a significant consideration in making this decision, so too are other factors including remaining in the local area to promote contact with the child’s family and for the child to continue at the same school in order to give them as much stability as possible."
Judge Khatun Sapnara has ordered the council to conduct an investigation into the claims made by The Times and ordered that the girl should live with a family member who could meet her needs “in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion,”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments